Twin Sons of Desolation
by Bubonicus
Summary: A chance meeting has the last sons of two separate worlds working together to save our world as we know it. Can the last son of Krypton and the last of the Time Lords work together to save planet earth? Or will they end up destroying each other? (My first attempt. All criticsm aptly welcome. Thanks.)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The sound of the blow was almost deafening, a large thunder clap that rolled over the city. Windows rattled throughout Metropolis, car alarms blared their protest. The man of steel dropped to one knee, the pressure of the large mechanical titan bearing down on him. One of Luthor's newest toys no doubt. Only he wielded this type of technology. Only he knew Superman's strengths, as well as his weaknesses. With a mighty heave Superman threw off the massive foot that was threatening to crush him. The titan staggered backward a few steps, its mighty arms flailing wildly in an attempt to regain its balance.

This machine was unique though. The closer it got to Superman, the weaker he got. This wasn't the typical weakness he would normally feel when he was around kryptonite. No, this was something new. Something he hadn't encountered yet, and quite frankly it had the man of steel a little worried. Being the defender of Metropolis, however, he was not afforded the luxury of worrying. This thing had already leveled one building, and if this fight continued the way it was going who knows how many lives would be endangered.

"Ok you walking junk pile. Let's see what you're really made of." Superman grunted as he stood once more. In a flash he was up in the air, a streak of crimson and blue hurtling toward the mechanical monstrosity. Another loud bang resonated through the air as he collided with the machine full force and lifted it straight off the ground. He could feel his strength fading slowly, as if the machine itself was syphoning off his energy. A huge tendril snaked out of the titan's chest cavity and wrapped itself around the Kryptonian's waist. Seconds later a massive jolt of electricity surged through Superman's body.

Superman grit his teeth against the pain and continued flying. He had to get this thing past the city limits. Away from where it was a danger to anyone. Another shock coursed through him. The pain was testament to how weak he currently was. It was the third shock that did him in. His ascent had halted and thus came a quick and meteoric descent. The only thought that went through his dazed mind was the hope that Metropolis was at least safe for the moment. That Lois was safe.

The two collided into the ground with near immeasurable impact. What used to be a quiet woodland area had now turned into a large crater. The earth rippled beneath them. Trees were uprooted; limbs were snapped and tossed into the air like toothpicks. The impact was actually a very fortuitous turn of events on three counts. First was the fact that they did manage to get far enough away from the city to where Superman didn't have to worry about the citizens of the city. Second, the velocity of the impact was so great that it actually ripped the tendril right out of the automatons chest.

Superman bounced twice, and slid to a slow halt. A path of debris and splintered wood lay in his wake. He laid there for not more than a couple seconds. He didn't have time to rest. He didn't have time to catch his breath. He could hear the machine already working desperately to regain its footing. He had to capitalize on this opportunity. He staggered to his feet; he felt the sun's rays beating down on him, revitalizing him. He looked toward the machine; it was on its feet and making its way out of the crater that they had created. If Superman were to stand any chance against this thing he had to stay away from it, attack it from a distance. If he didn't, it would continue to sap his energy and eventually overtake him.

"Ready for round two?" he asked aloud. He leapt into the air and swooped over the crater. The mobility of the creature, or lack thereof, would be its downfall. The machine raised its mechanical arms and launched a volley of laser bolts toward the Kryptonian.

"No, I don't think so." he said. Superman dodged the crimson beams with ease as he flew ever higher around the crater. Taking a deep breath he let it out in a sub-arctic blast, directed at the machines feet. A thick layer of ice coated the wall of the crater. The machines footing immediately became unstable. It skidded back down to the center of the crater, once more its arms flailing around for some semblance of balance but not finding any. This gave Superman the precious few moments that he needed. The few moments it took to soak in the suns golden rays, to allow his strength to return.

The machine, flat on its back, raised its hands toward him and shot again. This time, however, instead of a rapid volley of blasts, it was a steady stream. A single beam that was far larger than the blasts before. It was enough to catch the man of steel off guard. He caught the beam square in the chest, knocking him out of the sky. It was then that the third fortuitous act of their crash made itself apparent. As Superman fell from the sky into the crater the machine launched a second tendril from its chest and wrapped around the man of steels legs. However, this time it was different. Superman did not feel the slow drain of energy he had when he came into contact with the machine before. Somehow, in the fall, the machine was damaged.

"It's a whole new ballgame now, isn't it?" Superman said with the slightest of smirks. His fingers dug into the tendril wrapped around his legs. With the sound of groaning steel and snapping cables he tore the tendril apart freeing his legs. A focused blast of his heat beam was able to slice through the titans arm, severing it at the elbow. The sound of his punches echoed through the valley as piece by piece he dismantled the machine. Shredded metal and heaps of molten slag was all that was left at the bottom of the crater by the time he was finished. Despite his best efforts though, he could find no clues as to the origins of the metal monstrosity. He quickly cleaned up the remaining debris and made his way back to Metropolis.

Lois looked up as Clark took his seat across from her. A slight grin crept across her face. She wrinkled her nose and gave him a brief nod before returning her attentions back to her article. Her fingers once more began clacking away furiously upon her keyboard.

"Good morning Mr. Kent." She said softly, her eyes not deviating from her screen. "Traffic giving you problems again this morning?" She smirked again. Being married to the man of steel was not anything if entertaining, though it did present itself with a whole slew of problems. She was always having to make excuses for his unexplained absences, his late arrivals, and his sudden disappearances. It was a small price to pay forever in exchange for having around the clock access to her very own private super hero.

"Well you know how it goes Lois. Sometimes traffic is just unavoidable." He replied. He slid his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a single digit. "How's your article coming along? Still writing about the aliens that are wandering among us?"

"You of all people should realize how vulnerable we really are Smallville. There have been plenty of unexplained alien phenomena that have been occurring as of late. The signs all point to an alien incursion." She said as she continued to tap away furiously at her computer.

"What's that supposed to mean? Me of all people?" He gave a furtive glance around the office before clearing his throat and arching a brow at her.

"I mean you… of all people. Next to me you are one of the top reporters in this burg. You should be able to see the signs for yourself." She glanced up from her monitor long enough to give him a sly wink before she dove back into her story. Another bonus from marrying the big lug was that she could always make him sweat when she wanted. Not that she would ever spill the proverbial beans on him, but it was still fun to see him cringe every once in a while.

"Well I must say Lois, that that kind of story seems like it would be more fitting for the pages of _The Inquisitor_. I can't believe that Perry would even let you write such a piece." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's called reporters intuition Smallville. Maybe you should get some. If Perry can concede that there's a story here perhaps you should too. Think of it. All kinds of alien tech has been popping up lately. All over the world even, not just inside our humble Metropolis. This is big Kent, and I'm going to blow this thing wide open. Just you watch."

"Well Lois, I hope you do. As you said, there's no better reporter than you." He flashed her another grin. But too soon his grin went sour and his eyes went wide behind his spectacles. A report was coming over one of his colleague's radio a few desks away.

"This just in…" came the report. "The satellite _Persephone_ is falling out of orbit and to the earth. The _Persephone_, being one of the largest satellites in US history, is estimated to land in the Las Vegas area. The city of Las Vegas is being evacuated as we speak; however it is unconfirmed how many have been cleared. Experts are reporting that should the _Persephone_ crash into Las Vegas the destruction would be catastrophic. Eye witness report…"

"Lois, I think I'm going to get something from the café. I was so late I forgot to grab something before I left, would you like anything?"

"Hmm?" She said absent mindedly only half hearing him. "Yes, bring me a bagel and some coffee." She replied. He nodded his ascent and rushed off. Seconds later a boom filled the air causing the office windows to rattle. Lois smirked to herself. "Go get em Smallville." She thought to herself.

-

It wasn't long after Clark left before Lois had put the finishing touches on her story. She quickly scanned it for errors but found it to her satisfaction. She turned to stand when she saw a courier approaching her.

"Excuse me, are you a Miss…. Lois Lane?" he asked her looking down at his clip board. She quirked a brow and nodded. She wasn't expecting any packages, however in her position with the paper people would send her all kinds of things that they thought would be print worthy. She has received things from supposed alien artifacts, to plans for Nazi robot armies, and the occasional manifesto for world domination. It was usually her job to sort out the true stories from the crack pots. The brown clad courier produced a certified envelope and handed it over to her.

"Please sign here." He said thrusting the clipboard at her. She sighed heavily. So much for customer service she thought. She signed where indicated and handed it back. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. The courier had barely turned around before Lois had the envelope open. Inside was a single slip of folded paper. She removed the slip of paper and read the contents to herself.

'Lois Lane – In order to save the planet you need to come to the roof of the Daily Planet immediately.' She looked at the scribbles and then back to the courier who was heading back to the elevator.

"Hey," she hollered after him. "Who sent this?" she asked. The courier shrugged and pressed the button for the elevator. Lane shook her head. Why were people so useless these days. She didn't recognize the handwriting. It was her reporter's instinct that told her to avoid this letter, it seemed to be the joke of some whack job. She crumpled it up and tossed it into a nearby wastebasket.

"Thanks for nothing." She called back to courier. The elevator doors opened. As the brown clad courier stepped on, another courier stepped off. This one was clad in yellow and approached Lois.

"Excuse me miss, could you point me in the direction of a 'Lois Lane'?" He asked her. Lois cocked her head to one side and looked at him incredulously.

"I'm Lois Lane." She replied. He smiled and produced another certified envelope.

"Greetings Miss Lane, it seems like we have a letter her for you. If you could sign right here please." She signed, took the envelope, and ripped it open immediately. Inside was another slip of paper, much like the first. She read the paper on her way back to her desk.

"No seriously. You need to come to the roof right away if you want to save the world from Superman, aka Clark Kent, aka Kal-El aka your husband." Her eyes went wide when she read the words on the paper. Quickly she glanced around for the yellow clad courier but he had long since disappeared. Her curiosity was now peaked. Not too many people knew that Clark and Superman were actually the same person. Even less knew him by his Kryptonian name. She chewed gently upon her bottom lip. But he saved the planet on so many occasions, why would he destroy it? It just didn't add up. There were too many questions here to just let this go by. She had to find out who sent these letters and why. Grabbing her jacket from her desk she made her way to the top of the building.

She pushed her way through the rooftop entrance. What she saw across the roof from her took her totally by surprise. There, across the rooftop, was a tall almost gaunt figure pacing back and forth across the roof. There was a distinct look of anxiousness upon his features. He clutched at a small metallic cylinder that he kept flipping open and checking at. He would then close it, pace back and forth a few times, flip open the cylinder and check it again. He wore a blazer, some khaki slacks, and an odd red bowtie. Behind him stood a large blue box that had the semblance of an old police box from Europe. The door slammed shut behind her alerting him to her presence. His face lit up as he spied her.

"Good, you're here. We need to get going. Time is running out. Superman… er… Clark… uh… What is it that you call him these days? Well no bother. He is about to do something that will destroy this very planet. You, Mrs. Kent… Miss Lane…" He shook his head. He seemed to be rather confused at this point. "And you Lois are the only one that can stop him. It is quite imperative that you come with me. Now. I'll explain on the way. Please hurry yourself and get inside." He said as he pushed the door to the police box open and followed his own advice.

"Wait just a minute. I don't even know who the heck you are and you expect me to jump because you say so? Heh, I don't think so mister bowtie. You either explain yourself now or we wait for Clark to get back and you can explain it to him." She stood there, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh, so you are calling him Clark. Fantastic. Very well then. Who I am is… uh…" he responded as he patted the chest pocket of his blazer. He removed a folded piece of leather and handed it to her. "Here, these are my credentials. They should tell you everything you want to know." Cautiously Lois took the leather fold and opened it. Her eyes scrutinized the contents. She looked from the slip of paper, back to him, and then back to the paper.

"You? You are an affiliate of the Justice League? Somehow I find that a little hard to believe." She squinted at him, trying to decide if he was legitimate or not. "What's your super power? Poor taste?" She gave his laminate another look before tossing it back at the stranger.

"Justice League? Of course I'm an affiliate of the Justice League, I'm the Doctor. I'll be happy to explain everything, but for now your planet is in great danger, and as I said before you are the only one that can save it. So step inside and I will explain everything. Time is of the essence. And what do you mean poor taste? Bow ties are cool." He replied catching the leather fold and slipping it back into his inner jacket pocket. The Doctor waved her inside the blue box.

"Which Doctor are you exactly? I've seen Dr. Fate before and you look nothing like him buddy. Exactly which doctor are you?" Lois asked, taking a tentative step forward.

"Nope, not Dr. Fate, just '_The Doctor'_. Do you always ask so many questions when someone is trying to save the planet? Now please, step lively."

"Doctor who?" She asked quizzically. Slowly she followed the strange man into the blue box.

"Just the Doctor." He smiled, shutting the door behind her.

-

He was already on his way back to the Daily Planet, but it was the supersonic high frequency thrumming that drew Superman to the roof. It was a sound that was completely foreign to him. No, not foreign, alien. Superman had traveled all across the world, he had traversed galaxies and solar systems, and he had even spent time in other dimensions all together. In all his days and experiences, Superman had never heard anything like the soft thrumming that cascaded over his ears now. It was more of a feeling than a sound. Like the waves of the ocean lapping rhythmically against the shoreline, the soft thrumming washed over him time and time again.

As he arrived within eyesight of his destination he saw the source of the soft noise that called out to him. It was emanating from a strange blue box there on the roof. It looked something akin to one of the old London police boxes, and it certainly hadn't been there when he left moments ago. And what's more, Lois was there. He strained his eyes, telescoping his view. His curiosity was only matched by a foreboding sense of danger. He pushed himself to get to the rooftop even faster.

The thrumming of the box became louder. It was a pulsing whirring noise, almost like a heartbeat. What was Lois doing? Why would she have gone inside? His questions, however, would go unanswered. Just as he was reaching the roof top the box slowly faded. He landed atop the roof, a look of stunned silence upon his face? Frantically he searched the roof top. With his x-ray vision he scanned the building. There was no sign of her.

"Lois?" he called out, but there was no answer. "LOIS?!" He shouted this time. The result was the same. Silence. He strained his hearing to the best of his abilities, but there was nothing. She was gone. He scanned the surrounding area but still there was nothing. She and the weird blue box were had completely vanished.


	2. Chapter 2 - First Impressions

Chapter 2 – First Impressions

Superman sat alone in his fortress of solitude. Usually the crystalline structure would offer him some solace. It was his own little corner of the world where he could relax and find peace. Today however peace would not settle upon him. He walked the lonely corridors, his mind roaming over the most recent events of history. It had been three months since Lois had disappeared. Three months of searching the planet for any place that she might be. Three months of futile effort. Add to that the typical day to day stress of saving Metropolis from one threat after another and the guilt he shouldered for losing his wife and one could see why he sought such solitude.

However the fortress only reminded him of the times he shared with Lois. Every room he entered he saw echoes of his past life with Lois. Past conversations trickled to the forefront of his mind. He could see her face, her smile, the chaotic twinkle that sparkled in her eye when she had a story that she was working on. She lived for the news. She longed for a mystery to unravel. It was that nose for the truth that attracted him to her. It was at the very least one thing on a list of many.

And now she was gone. He had searched the entire planet for her, from top to bottom. She was nowhere to be found. He searched from the darkest jungles of South America to the sweltering deserts of Africa and each day was as fruitless as the last. He had even used the systems on Watchtower to scan the earth for her distinct bio-readings, but nowhere on earth were any signs of Lois Lane. Superman's spirit was slowly dwindling. Then a familiar voice echoed through the crystalline halls.

"Clark, its Bruce. I have been doing some research on the blue box that you said you saw." came Batman's disembodied voice.

"What did you find?" he responded grimly. The dark knight had successfully captured his attention.

"According to some top secret files I have unearthed from a now defunct special forces unit in Britain called Torchwood, the blue box that you have found is called the Tardis. It stands for '_Time And Relative Dimensions In Space_'. The blue box has actually been seen throughout the centuries and recorded in a variety of different ways. There have been sightings in ancient Egypt, stories telling of a blue box in Aztec lore, I have even discovered a painting done by Picasso himself that was an abstract of the same blue box."

"So what are you saying Bruce? Is this some sort of immortal? Some sort of god that lives forever inside a blue police box? That seems a little farfetched. Since when did you start believing in fairy tales Bruce?" Superman said sharply.

"I don't believe them. I have been able to verify all these stories on my own though. I even purchased the Picasso. It's not as farfetched as it seems. No more than say an orphan from another planet that gets super powers from a yellow sun." Superman squinted at Batman's response. Sarcasm never was Batman's strong suit, nor was sympathy.

"How reliable are these sources of yours?" He questioned.

"The Torchwood is a non-existing government program that answers only to British rule. It's very similar to Area 51 here in the states. Torchwood was formed in 1879 by Queen Victoria herself and their files date back just as far. They are quite extensive. It was created in order to protect the British Empire against the threat of alien forces. So I would have to say they are quite reliable."

"A top secret branch of the government designed to protect against alien incursion. How exactly did you get these files if they are defunct, and don't exist in the first place?" Superman asked. There was a long drawn out silence.

"The person that is known to operate the Tardis is one called 'The Doctor'." Batman continued avoiding the question all together. "According to the files he is not a god as you would put it but more described as an alien. However the reports get convoluted as they implicate him as starting as many of the alien disturbances as he stops. So it's still not clear as to his intents and purposes. He has taken several forms throughout the years so either he has some kind of shape shifting ability or perhaps able to swap forms. Usually he travels with several companions who, according to the files, are to be considered as equal of a threat to national security as the Doctor himself. And just to warn you, the defunct Torchwood is not quite as terminated as they would like us to believe. They have quite the extensive file on your alien activities as well." Just then Superman could hear an alert beacon in the background of the intercom.

"What was that?" He asked curiously wondering if he was needed somewhere.

"Thanks to the Torchwood files, I was able to isolate and extrapolate an energy signature that is unique to the Tardis. I programmed it into the Watchtower computers and set up a global scan. That was notifying me that a similar signature has been found."

"Are you telling me you found the blue box?" Superman questioned. His went eyes wide.

"Yes. The Tardis is located in Cardiff." Now it was Batman's turn to receive no response. "Clark, be careful. There is no telling the extent of this being's capabilities." But the intercom remained silent. Superman was already out of his fortress and on his way to Cardiff, a simple red streak, soaring across the arctic skies. Something very precious had been taken from him. He would not rest until it had been returned.

xXxXx

When all was said and done, it had been quite the refreshing trip. It usually was when the good Doctor traveled with the Ponds. Throw in his future wife River Song and an adventure was sure to ensue. And ensue it did. It was quite the romp it was. And just like always it had started with the most innocent of all endeavors. Who knew that a simple run to fields of Diagonia 12 to watch the blooming of the Jentin groves would have turned into such a haphazard misadventure? The Doctor knew. Or at least he had the inkling of the idea that such a thing would happen.

He so did enjoy traveling with company. It sure did beat traveling alone. He let out a soft sigh as he opened the door to the Tardis and stepped out onto the streets of Cardiff. He had just left the Amelia and Rory in a nice little cozy hideaway in the Alps for some much wanted alone time. That was right after he dropped River off at her cell. So here he was in Cardiff, home of a stable lay line of energy that the Tardis could use to recharge her batteries. Which left him alone. Always alone.

He didn't even have the antics of Captain Jack Harkness to lighten his spirits. Ever since Torchwood shut down his trips to Cardiff became increasingly uneventful and dull. He walked along the streets, his hands tucked deep into his pockets. It was a sad and lonely existence, being the last of his kind. He slowly replayed the events of his life in his mind. The faces of all the different companions he had had throughout the years. The smiles and adventures they had shared. And as always his thoughts would eventually come full circle to the goodbyes that they shared as well.

With his mind deep in the fog of his own memories he barely had noticed when a woman approached him. She was an older woman, mid to late forties. Her hair was matted grey with streaks of blond. In her hands she had a bundle of fliers, one of which she thrust toward him.

"Excuse me sir, have you seen my Jenny?" She asked a hint of sorrow in her voice. It was this inflection of sadness that pulled the Doctor out of his own melancholy haze. It was always easier for him to avoid his own feelings by helping others. He accepted the flier and looked at it as the woman continued. "She was last seen three days ago in this neighborhood. She has blond hair, blue eyes, and was last seen wearing a pink sweater. Have you seen her?"

"I'm afraid not Mrs….?" He asked, a soft comforting smile on his face.

"Mrs. Hagen sir."

"Fantastic, Mrs. Hagen. You said your Jenny has been missing for three days now?" he questioned? She nodded her ascent.

"I went to the police right away I did. But those good for nothings said she had to be missing for at least twenty four hours before they could investigate. And when I went back they told me they would _'do their best_'. Their best!? It's been three days since I saw my little girl. Heaven knows where she is or what has happened to her."

"Well it's settled then. I will be more than happy to help you find your Jenny, Mrs. Hagen." He replied eagerly. Perhaps a bit too eagerly given the situation. But there was nothing like a good mystery of the missing daughter to pass the time while the Tardis was recharging. "Now you say she was last seen in this neighborhood? Excellent. Why don't I have a poke around and see what I can find. Stay right here, back in a tic." He removed his sonic screwdriver and flicked it open with a snap of his wrist. A move he had done dozens of times before. He glanced at the readings and began walking down the street, far more enthusiastically than he had previously. The woman watched him curiously for a moment or two before she continued to pass out fliers.

The Doctor rounded the corner and found an alleyway tucked between a small convenience store and a butcher shop. He tilted his head to once side, his eyes narrowing. He brushed a stray lock of hair from his forehead and looked down the street.

"Well if I were one to go missing, that seems like the perfect spot to go missing in." he said quietly to himself. There was little lighting, and even in the mid-day as it was the height of the surrounding buildings had cast the alley into deep shadow. Cautiously he walked down the alley his eyes peeled for any signs of… well anything really. He flicked open his screwdriver again and glanced at the readings.

"Now that seems oddly familiar." He was registering something that he knew he should recognize but didn't. The alley turned a corner behind the butcher shop, and unfortunately it reached a dead end right there. He crossed his arms over his chest and glanced around pondering. The back door to the butcher shop was locked tightly. Beside it there was a short stairwell leading to the shops basement. On the opposite side of the alley was a tattered green dumpster. He flipped open the screwdriver once more and read the readings. What were they? Why should he know this? He changed the setting on the device to narrow the field array. It beeped repetitively as he meandered around the alley, but it grew faster as he approached the dumpster.

"Ah ha… that's more like it." He said to nobody. He pushed the dumpster to one side and sorted through the refuse that lined it.

"And what do we have here?" he asked out loud. He reached down and picked up a scrap of pink cloth. Judging from the fabric it very well could have been a sweater. The Doctors mind raced. There was a trace amount of blood on the swatch of cloth… quite possibly Jenny's blood. He swallowed as his mind calculated the facts and reeled with what was the only outcome. But he had to be sure. He would take the swatch back to the Tardis and run it through the systems there. If what he feared was correct the situation might just be a lot direr than he had first thought. Tucking the piece of cloth in his pocket he exited the alley and started to run back to the Tardis.

On the way he passed Mrs. Hagen again and skidded to a halt. He ran up to her and flashed her the best hurried smile he could muster.

"Mrs. Hagen. Have no worries I think I have found your daughter. Well not your daughter exactly per say, but I think I have a clue that could lead me to your daughter. Unless the clue is something far worse than it is, which I imagine it very well may be, but if that's the case then your daughter may actually be the least of your worries. Right? Right. Um… stay here. I'll be back." And before the good woman could even raise an eyebrow at the odd man he was off again.

He ran several blocks to where he had left the Tardis. He had already formulated several plans in his mind depending on the severity of the situation. However, before he could put any kind of plan into motion he had to know what he was going into motion against. While he had an inkling of a suspicion what he needed was concrete proof. Even though the Tardis was recharging, it had ample power to be able to do a full spectrum diagnostic on the piece of cloth. He rounded the corner and the Tardis came into view. Time certainly was of the essence here so he hurried as quickly as he could to the Tardis. However, just as he got near, everything became a blur.

xXxXx

It had happened so fast the Doctor barely had time to comprehend what was going on. One minute he was about to enter the Tardis, the next he was sprawling on the roof of a nearby tenement building. It took a great deal to stun the good Doctor into silence, and the man of steel had done just that. The Doctor sat there where he had been dropped, staring directly at the man who abducted him. The dark haired man was still floating a good foot above the roof. Awe inspiring was too little of a word for it. The man in blue and red had swooped from the sky and plucked the Doctor from the street, much like an eagle or falcon would snatch up its next prey. The Doctor shook his head gently things coming back into focus.

"Where's Lois." He barked at the Doctor.

"I'm sorry who? I'm not sure who you're talking about." The Doctor picked himself up and dusted himself off. "This Lois person you are looking for? Was she abducted from this area too?" Perhaps there was a link between this person and Mrs. Hagen's Jenny. If that were the case things were going to get increasingly more difficult.

"You took her and I'm here to get her back." Superman said as he landed atop the roof. The Doctor looked at him a bit quizzically. He didn't recall taking anyone.

"My um… good fellow. I believe there has been some mistake. I don't know of any Lois. But I would be…"

"You are the Doctor, right? I saw her get into your Tardis and disappear. So I know you have her. If you don't give her back I will tear apart that box until I find her."

"Yes, I am the Doctor. " Now he looked even more puzzled. But he didn't have time for this. If Lois and Jenny had been taken they were in need of help now. "But no, I do not know of this Lois. I did not take her, nor do I have any intentions of taking anyone. Now if you'll excuse me, it is imperative I return to the Tardis before something disastrous happens."

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave. Not while Lois is still being held prisoner, and seeing as how you are the last person who has seen her. You need to tell me what you did with her." Superman reached out and grabbed the Doctor by the shirt hoisting the man up off his feet. The Doctor showed no signs of resistance. In fact, the only real expression he showed was amusement.

"You aren't exactly from around here are you?" The Doctor asked reflexively. It wasn't the response Superman was expecting. He arched a brow. "Right, obviously not. I mean, no normal person can do what you did. Are doing. What were we talking about? Ah yes. Lois, don't know where she is. But if you just…"

"I know all about you Doctor. You are a menace. You have brought alien forces to our planet time and time again. Whether purposely or not, you have put lives in jeopardy with absolutely no consideration for anyone but yourself. Where ever you go, destruction and misery follow. I don't have time for your games Doctor whoever you are. Just tell me where Lois is or you will never set foot on this planet again."

"Are you mad? Have you not been listening to me? Well obviously you haven't. I do not bring… well… not purposely… I mean… do you know how many times I've saved this planet? This universe? I mean some of my favorite people are here." The Doctor sighed. For the most part what the spandex clad hero was saying was correct. If it weren't for him being here the earth wouldn't have had nearly as many aggressors against it as it had. Even though he did save it multiple times over; in many different time streams.

It was then that a soft whine was heard by both the Doctor and Superman. It was the sound of some type of machinery powering up. It was a sound that was all too familiar to the Doctor. Suddenly an ionic particle ray seared the air and a flash of bright white light tore across the rooftop heading straight for the Doctor. As fast as the beam was, Superman was even faster. Dropping the Doctor to the rooftop he intercepted the beam and caught it full in the chest. It exploded into a shower of sparks and crackling energy.

The beam staggered the man of steel, forcing him to take half a step back. Across the rooftop a metallic being shimmered into view.

"Well that's a new trick." The Doctor said as he watched the man of metal materialize from seemingly thin air. A chill began to run down his spine as his previous suspicions were confirmed. "Cybermen." He said under his breath. Apparently upgraded Cybermen to boot. The first of the Cybermen stood across the rooftop from them, a ionic rifle in its hands. It was soon joined by another then two more, then another five. All materializing into view just as the first had done. It wasn't long before a whole squadron of Cybermen stood across from them. Each in turn began charging their rifle. The same soft whine repeated two dozen times.

"Destroy the Doctor." Came the metallic voice of the first of the Cybermen.


	3. Chapter 3 - Assault

Chapter 3 – Assault

"Delete the Doctor!" came the shrill cries of the Cyber-leader. In unison the Cybermen raised their rifles and leveled them toward the Doctor who was now picking himself up off the ground one more time.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Superman said through grit teeth. "Are these more of your playmates Doctor?"

"Old friends really. Ok, so friends would be a bit of a stretch. More of acquaintances really. We've run into each other a few times before. They are more dangerous than they appear. I urge you to use caution." The Cybermen let loose a volley of plasma force toward the Doctor. Much like before Superman intercepted each of the blasts, catching them in his palm. Once the last beam was dealt with he shook away the wisps of smoke from his hand.

"Who are you?" Asked the Cyber-leader as it stepped forward scanning the man of steel.

"I am Superman, protector of this planet. The Doctor has something very important to me."

"The one designated Superman is superior to humans. Genetic material would vastly more durable than human material. Delete the Doctor. The Superman will be upgraded."

"Delete the Doctor! Upgrade the Superman!" the remaining Cybermen chanted in unison.

"Who are these clowns Doctor? Or should I ask the real question. Why do they want to destroy you so badly that they threaten the earth?" Superman spat out. He stood calmly between the Cybermen and the Doctor.

Superman focused his gaze on the Cyber-leader. Layer by layer his x-ray vision stripped him away. Initial layers showed thick dermal plating. General machinery and circuitry provided the machine with power and a mock circulatory system. It was when he stripped down the cybernetic plating around the skull that he saw that beneath the cranial plating that threw him for a loop. A living, organic, presumably human brain hardwired with circuitry.

The Cybermen took several steps forward unleashing plasma bolts along the way. Superman was still in shock from his discovery. The bolts caught him upon his chest, in his legs and one even took him square in the forehead. He was staggered back and dazed, dizziness taking him. The Doctor scrambled behind a nearby air duct. The bolts kicking up the rocks and dust upon the roof top where he had been.

Shaking the cobwebs out his skull Superman had to move quickly. He focused his gaze and a beam of heat vision erupted forth. A single beam narrow and surgical swept across the Cybermen's rifles immediately slicing them into useless pieces of scrap.

"These things were human?" Superman asked out loud. He wasn't really expecting a response, yet the Doctor felt fit to supply with him one.

"I assure you; while they may have been human at one point they aren't any longer. All form of humanity has been stripped away from them. They use human organ and tissue to build their armies. They upgrade humans from their frail docile selves into these monstrosities, removing any and all emotions. Becoming the perfect human or so they say."

"The Doctor knows too much. Delete the Doctor." Cried the Cybermen. Dropping their now broken weaponry they began to shamble forward with outstretched hands. Superman was now locked in combat with his own inner turmoil. Simple machines he could destroy, but these were far from being simple. Things had just gotten infinitely more difficult. He took in a deep breath and exhaled coating the rooftop with a thick layer of ice, rooting the Cybermen to the spot they stood. However it didn't last very long.

"Upgrade the Superman. Delete the Doctor." Came the mechanical voices. They continued to march forward, their legs shattering through the ice that bound them.

"If you can destroy them you need to do it. You would only be doing them a favor." The Doctor yelled from behind cover.

"Are you mad? They are human. Or at least part of them is. Now I'm beginning to see who the real monster is. I'm beginning to think that you are more responsible for this than you let on. If there is any ounce of humanity in them they deserve to live Doctor. Just like you. Just like me." Superman shouted over his shoulder.

The machines marched toward the Doctor forcing him from behind cover. The Doctor slowly backed his way toward the edge of the rooftop.

"Yes, they were human once. But any part of them that was human is nothing any more. Superman, you have to see that each moment for them would be filled with torturous agony were they able to feel pain. All form of humanity had been stripped from them. Memories wiped out. Feelings erased. Even pain is no longer a factor for them. Anything that had ever made them human is gone. You wouldn't just be saving the rest of humanity from their upgrades but you can free the ones who have already been…"

His words were taken from him as he backed a little to close to the edge. He turned and waved his arms trying desperately not to topple over the side. In a flash superman was behind him gripping the back of his blazer.

"Sorry Doctor, I still need you." Superman answered. Just then a massive shock coursed through his arm where a nearby Cyberman who had been marching toward the Doctor had gripped him. His arm twitched tossing the Doctor onto the roof top heavily. Superman felt his arm go numb and fall lifelessly to his side. The Doctor looked up at the man of steel and coughed shaking his head.

"That was the grip of the typical Cyberman. It would have been instant death for me or a normal human. I guess it's a good think you're not exactly human. But that does leave us in a quandary now doesn't it." The Doctor sputtered.

Superman clutched at his dead arm as the Cybermen marched ever closer. It would be easy enough for him to destroy the machines true enough, but what of the remaining pieces of humans that were inside them? He could avoid them, they were slow, but he couldn't avoid them and protect the Doctor at the same time. The Cyber-leader grew closer while the remaining Cybermen circled around the two. With grit teeth and a heavy heart he fired his heat vision once more, this time severing the Cyber-leaders legs just above the knee.

"They can be stopped without being destroyed Doctor. If there is even a shred of humanity left within them than I have to believe that they can be saved. I would say the same for you but from what I've seen and heard about you, you may be more of a monster than they are." Superman growled. He hated being forced into this situation but forced he was. He turned in a slow circle targeting each of the Cybermen and slicing through their legs. It was just as the last of the Cybermen fell that Superman felt the cold clamp of steel upon his leg. He turned to face the Cyber-leader just as a surge of electricity poured through his leg.

Reflexively his leg shot out, catching the Cyber-leader in the side of the head before going numb. Superman fell to the rooftop while the Cyber-leaders head was ripped from its torso and went clattering across the roof. With his leg and his arm numb Superman grunted as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Downloading Cyber-leaders cortex. I will be the new Cyber-leader." Said the metallic voice of one of the nearby Cybermen. It's eyes flashed an electric blue for just the briefest of moments. "New orders from Cyber-command. Upgrade the Superman at all costs." With the order issued the Cybermen stopped their pursuit of the Doctor and began crawling toward the man of steel.

xXxXx

The Doctor's eyes went wide when he saw Superman collapse to the roof. It was amazing how much punishment this being could actually take. He felt a wave of relief when he saw the man in blue push himself up. His gaze shifted to where the Cyber-leaders head now lay. The wheels in his head began to spin. His thoughts were chained together into a clear path. Logical events were pieced with fragments of the past, and knowledge of his enemy. They were sewn together into the fabric of a solution. And all this occurred within the blink of an eye.

The good Doctor wasn't sure at first if running into the Man of Steel was a good thing or not. After all he seemed hell bent on making him produce some missing person or another. The man was convinced that the Doctor was a kidnapper of all things. But watching him work was truly amazing. Couple that with the fact that he practically handed the Doctor the means to locate the source of the Cybermen and possibly save Mrs. Hagen's daughter, well that was a gift horse that he couldn't ignore.

He traversed the rooftop as quickly as possible; leaping over the occasional outstretched arm that tried clumsily to stop him. Quickly he scooped up the detached head of the ex-Cyber-leader and scurried toward the nearby fire escape. Let's not forget that Superman served as an excellent distraction; a distraction that he didn't seem to have to worry about like River or the Ponds. He was of far sturdier stock. An enigma wrapped in a riddle he was. But the Doctor couldn't stop to unwrap that particular puzzle box at the moment.

"Well I see that you have things well in hand Superman. I'm just going to pop on back to the Tardis for a tic. I think I have discovered a way to stop this whole thing. Just keep away from them for a few minutes. I will be back." He shouted out. Superman grunted as he tried to push himself back up to his feet. The Doctor surveyed the area one last time to make sure the Cybermen were far enough away from him as not to pose any real danger. Once done he scrambled down the fire escape with the head tucked firmly beneath his arm.

As he neared the bottom he could hear the clang of metal and the pounding of steel. Perhaps the Boy Scout was finally taking him at his word. It's a shame more people didn't listen to him. They would save themselves a lot of trouble in the long run. I mean, he was the Doctor after all. He mentally shrugged as he turned the corner. Quickly he scanned the area to get his surroundings, and then ran toward the Tardis' location.

He swallowed hard, his chest heaving, his fingers trembling with excitement. He should have known he wouldn't have stayed bored for very long. He never really did. The air was crisp and invigorating. Or at least it would be if he had a chance to enjoy it. The world whipped past as he raced down the street, frantically dodging people in his path. Finally he arrived at the Tardis. So now not only was he in a rush to rescue Jenny and reunite her with Mrs. Hagen, but he had to shut down the Cyber-command and hopefully the rest of the Cybermen at the same time. All before they overwhelmed Superman. Piece of cake... for a time lord.

He ran inside and shut the door behind. Immediately he went to the central console and began pulling at levers and twisting knobs. He slid out a small tray from the console and placed within it the bloody pink scrap of cloth he had found in the alley. He quickly began the DNA sequencing of the blood found on the cloth. Next he ran over to a far panel ripped it open and removed two wires. He flipped over the head of the Cyber-leader and connected the two cables to a bit of the exposed circuitry.

"By calibrating the psycho sematic traces of the Cyberman's cerebral input device and cross referencing the genetic makeup from the blood on the edges of the torn sweater I found in the alleyway, I should be able to calculate where Jenny was as well as the source of the Cybermen." He said aloud. He always enjoyed telling the Ponds how things worked. How the pieces of his plan linked together. It helped him to verbalize and confirm that said plan was the correct one. It was never as exciting when he just explained it to himself. "That's the theory anyway." He added with the arch of a brow.

The Doctor smiled at himself as his plan worked just as he had predicted. He quickly began switching levers and inputting coordinates. He flipped a couple switches and prepared the Tardis for takeoff. The all too familiar hum of the Tardis began to throb within him. It washed over him and like an addict it seemed to set him at ease. As if for that split second all was right with the universe.

"DOCTOR!" boomed the Kryptonian's voice. There was a pounding at the door. It hit the Tardis so hard that it actually knocked the Doctor off his feet. He had to clutch at the nearby railing for support. The Doctor lurched over to the console and flipped another switch or two confident in the fact that the Superman would not be able to get in. At least he knew that he escaped the Cybermen well enough. But his confidence didn't last very long at all as a muscled blue clad arm came crashing through the front door.

"What?! No! No, no, no, no, no! What?!" He cried out in alarm.

xXxXx

The soft beeping was the only noise to be heard in the otherwise silent office. Even with its incessant shrill beep it took the sole occupant of the room several moments to recognize it was even there. Lex Luthor sat in his chair staring out the window at the sprawling cityscape below. His fingers tapped softly against each other in a rhythm only he heard. His mind was lost in a waking revere, focused on the one thing that consumed his thoughts on a daily basis. Superman. The man of steel. The protector of Metropolis.

He sneered as his own thoughts became filled with their past confrontations and his past failures. Oh how he loathed the alien. How the mere thought of the abomination churned his stomach. Each time he thwarted even the best laid plans. He shook his head ever so slightly. Superman was a god among men, but even so he was not without his weaknesses. Soon Lex would either dominate the alien, or destroy it. He was getting closer with every attempt. It wouldn't be long before…

The beeping grew increasingly louder, invading even Luthor's thoughts. Luthor collected his thoughts, took a deep breath, and swiveled his chair to face his computer. He cast a furtive glance at the monitor before tapping one of the keys.

"Eye-drone 792A reporting from Cardiff England." Came a soft mechanical voice over the computer feed.

"Report." Lex responded coldly.

"The subject was confronted by mechanical beings of unknown origin and capabilities. The machines were to be designated as Cybermen. Initial scans report their intent was hostile but motives are still unknown. The weaponry used, while deadly to humans, had great effect on the Kryptonian though not proving to be lethal. The weaponry had a paralytic effect on the subject's limbs rendering them useless for a limited time. Despite the efforts of the hostile machines, the Superman was able to defend himself and destroy his attackers."

"Of course he did. He wouldn't be Superman if he couldn't take on a handful of robots." He said with a twinge of anger in his voice. "Display the recordings on screen." The eye-drone complied with the command. Luthor leaned forward, lacing his fingers beneath his chin, and gazing intently at the screen. He watched the brief battle unfold and several things became apparent. First was that Superman was hesitant about attacking the machines. He could have destroyed them in an instant, but it wasn't until they overwhelmed him that he destroyed them. "Curious." He said under his breath.

Secondly, the particle beams that the weaponry fired didn't have a vast effect on the man of steel, yet when the machines had touched him, that was when his limbs went limp. Their grip seemed to have a great affect. He stroked his chin gently as he continued to watch the footage.

"What was the compositional makeup of the machines?" He asked.

"Initial analysis of exterior shell revealed iron, steel, copper, and unknown substances. Further analysis warranted."

The footage showed Superman rushing to a blue police box, like one that would be found in old England. Lex arched a brow watching the footage. He sure seemed eager to get inside. His arm went through the front door. But what happened next was more amazing. The box, with superman attached, disappeared. A slight grin played at his lips. What an interesting turn of events. Perhaps his dealings with the Kryptonian were over. He highly doubted it. It would never be over until Superman's cold dead corpse rested at his feet. Lex took out his cell and dialed.

"Yes sir." Came the voice from the other end.

"I need a cleanup team. I'm feeding the coordinates now. Package all debris individually and returned to floor 37 at Luthorcorp Towers. I want it done yesterday." Before the voice could even respond Luthor collapsed his phone and tossed it onto his desk. He tapped a couple keys on his computer and the display looped the footage of the mysterious disappearing blue box.

"What are you? Where did you go?" Lex silently asked himself. His finger traced the image of the box as it disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4 - Lost in Space

Chapter 4 – Lost in Space

Traveling through space and time never seemed to be a problem for Superman. He had, on occasion, broken through dimensional barriers almost as easily as he had broken the sound barrier. However, in the majority of those circumstances it was at least of his own free will and with the aid of a device that he had some rudimentary level of understanding. This was a method of travel that he was not accustomed to, nor did he feel particularly safe as he clung to the side of the Tardis with his arm anchoring him into place. The trans-time space warp corridor spiraled all about them; brilliant shades of blue and violet colliding in a cacophony of sight that sourly tested his vision.

The motion of which however was making the Kryptonian rather nauseous. It felt as if he were being pulled in every conceivable direction at the same time. Between the spiraling of the Tardis, the bobbing and weaving of the time corridor and the psychedelic display of lights it was all he could do to hang on. In fact, there were several moments he felt his grip loosening from the inside. He fought the urge to vomit, trying desperately to remain conscious however it was a fight he was sorely losing.

The longer the Tardis remained in the tunnel the weaker he became. He could feel his strength waning with every passing moment. Dizziness soon became a real problem as they continued to travel along. His vision soon became blurry as the last of his strength slowly ebbed away. His grip on the Tardis as well as his grip on his consciousness finally slipped. All went black for the estranged son of Krypton.

xXxXx

The Doctor's eyes fluttered open. He shook his head briefly as he found himself on the floor of the Tardis. It took him a moment to even recall what had happened. He took a quick inventory of the events that led to his current predicament. He was currently in the Tardis and in no clear and present danger. That much seemed sure. He was in the Tardis because he was on his way to rescue the daughter of Mrs. Hagen. He had deduced that she had been taken forcefully when he found a swatch of her sweater coated with blood back in the alley. The trace elements on the sweater lead the Doctor to believe that she had been captured by Cybermen.

At the thought of Cybermen, the Doctor bolted into an upright sitting position. Yes, there had been a recent brash of unexplained disappearances in Cardiff. The Cybermen were no doubt behind them. He remembered he ran into the Cybermen and confirmed his suspicions. Once more he came across a whole brood of them. Or more to the point, they came across him; on the rooftops of all places. He scratched his head and adjusted his bowtie. He didn't quite remember how he got to the rooftop.

He pushed himself up to his feet and took in his surroundings. There was the head of the Cyber-Leader. Superman had kicked it off as an involuntary… Superman! His eyes darted to the door of the Tardis. The large hole that was there had diminished greatly. The Tardis was already well on its way to repairing its self. How in the worlds did a single man manage to break the door of the Tardis? To the Doctors knowledge the defense system worked on a form temporal phase shifting making it nigh impregnable. Of course there was that matter of the space liner Titanic replica crashing through the very walls of the Tardis.

The Doctor legs were still a bit on the wobbly side, and he gripped the railing tightly for support. With the size and speed that the space freighter was moving it was logical that it had gathered enough momentum and contained enough mass that it was theoretically possible that it could have perhaps breached the Tardis' defenses. He shook his head. It wasn't just theory. It had actually happened, but that was a space freighter; built to withstand the pressures of the vacuums in deep space. It was created as a pleasure liner built to sustain life, and propel said life across the universe at great speed. Superman was just a single man.

The Doctor reeled a bit. He wasn't quite sure if it was because of the sudden uncharted trip they just took or if it was the sudden realization of exactly how powerful the man of steel actually was. He walked over to the data console of the Tardis and punched in a few button combinations.

"Ok beautiful, where did you end up taking us this time?" he asked aloud to the Tardis. There was no response, but that never really stopped him. They were in the future, several hundred years in the future to be more precise. Earth was on the far side of the universe from where they were. He silently wondered why the Tardis would have even brought them here to begin with. As far as he could figure it, it was a complicated chain of events.

The Tardis was being stretched pretty thin. Because the Tardis hadn't fully recharged it's _'batteries'_ back in Cardiff it wasn't running at optimum efficiency. Since the Doctor had it doing an in depth DNA sweep of the surrounding areas as well as breaking into the Cyber-Leaders encrypted data files its proverbial mind was concentrating on too many things at once. Moving to the location that was the triangulated source of the Cybermen strikes must have been the final straw for the old girl. It was when the Tardis was temporally shifting to its destination that it was ultimately at its weakest. That coupled with the fact that Superman seemed to be immensely strong, allowed this mere man who was apparently more than a man it to break through the door of his baby.

But why would she bring them here of all places? He clenched his jaw taking a deep breath. He came to the realization that he had to settle this thing with Superman once and for all. The only way he was going to be able to continue on unhindered by the man in tights was to bury the proverbial hatchet and help him find this person that he was looking for. In turn, perhaps Superman would even be willing to help him rescue Mrs. Hagen's daughter. Superman did in fact handle the Cybermen on the roof top with a certain level of expertise.

That was it; he had made up his mind. He gave himself a curt nod and headed toward the Tardis' entrance. The doctor threw open the door to the Tardis and walked out into a large dark room. The familiar sound of thrumming machinery could be felt all around him. The Tardis was neatly tucked away behind a pile of boxes and large metal crates.

"Some kind of storage facility?" he questioned himself. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and he maneuvered his way around the crates and bins looking for the man of steel. The sound of his footsteps echoed softly of the hard metal floor. He flicked open the sonic screwdriver and gave a wave in the air. It picked up the traces of Superman's unique physiology but they were weak. If he was here it was some time ago. No telling where he would be now. He would have to find him. Just then an emergency claxon filled the air with its shrill cries.

"Oh come on, I haven't even touched anything yet!" he shouted aloud. His pace quickened as he didn't know just what the alarm meant or who it was alerting, but he had the nagging suspicion that he shouldn't be where he was any longer. He only hoped that the repairs to the Tardis would be complete before anyone or anything found her and that she would be healthy enough to protect herself.

"Solar detonation in sixty seconds and counting." Came a disembodied metallic voice that seemed to resonate from all around him.

"Oh come on!" he groaned again. Now his pace turned to a full out run. He found the entrance to the storage facility and made it out into a sparsely lit hallway. He ran down the hallway trying to get some kind of idea of where he was and where he needed to be. From the look of the hallway it was some kind of military base, an interstellar space station of sorts judging from the thickness of the bulkheads. Blast shields had slid down encasing all the windows and preventing him from seeing out.

"Solar detonation in thirty seconds and counting." The doctor felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. The claxon continued to blare as he made his way to a window. He whipped out the sonic screwdriver and pointed toward the window. After a momentary trill the device clicked and the shutter opened. And just like that he understood.

"Solar detonation in three, two, one…"

xXxXx

Clark's eyes fluttered open slowly. He felt sore all over. His head throbbed, his leg and arm were wracked with immense pain, and he felt as if he went another nine rounds with Doomsday. The room was dark and the only thing he could see was the soft glow of a couple stray computer monitors. He struggled to sit up but it took way more energy than he was capable of mustering. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness he could tell he was in some sort of hospital room.

"Lois?" he called out. His voice a hoarse whisper. It took him a moment to recall the events of what happened. The last he remembered he was spiraling out of control in some kind of inter dimensional portal as best he could figure. He remembered losing consciousness, but that was it. He heard footsteps approaching.

"Take it easy there slugger." Came a soft female voice. "Lights." She commanded and the room responded to her. She was an older woman, in her late thirties if he had to guess. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a bun and her bangs framed her face. She was looking at a strange device that she carried that looked like a cross between a flashlight and a cell phone. She smiled softly at him, her green eyes soft and kind. The device made a slight chirping sound each time she tapped it. She pointed it toward him and shined the light at his chest.

He felt uneasy but was so weak he couldn't even try to move away from her. He looked down at his chest and was astonished to see that he could see right through it. Where ever the light from her device shown acted like an x-ray, not unlike his own x-ray vision.

"It looks like your ribs are healing nicely. It's nice to see you awake. My name is Thevia, chief medical liaison of SS27. You had us scared there for a little while. We weren't sure you were going to make it. Your… anatomy is amazing." She said with a slight smirk. "You aren't exactly from around here are you?" she asked.

Superman looked around a moment before shaking his head ever so slightly in the negative. He couldn't help but wonder where exactly he was. He tried to sit up once again but Thevia pushed him back down.

"You need to take it easy. You've been unconscious for the last week."

He looked at her with a shocked expression upon his face. He heard what she said but he couldn't quite understand it. A week? How could he have been unconscious that long? Where was he? There were too many questions for him to just sit here. He forced himself up into a sitting position. He felt relatively weak but otherwise in good condition. She shook her head slightly, a coy grin toying at the corner of her mouth.

"You are just bound and determined to destroy what little reserves you have left aren't you?" She went to a far cabinet removed a syringe and a small bottle of a light blue liquid. She walked back towards him filling the syringe with the blue liquid. "Here this will help stabilize you. It's like a combination of a pain killer, and a steroid. It should ease some of the pain that you're suffering and at the same time give you some of your strength back."

"I appreciate your efforts Thevia, but I don't think that's going to work?" He said, pushing himself to his feet.

"Oh? And you're a doctor from where ever it is you came from? Look, your physiology is downright weird I'll give you that, but I think I know what I'm talking about here." And with that she jabbed the syringe into his shoulder and pushed the plunger. Superman fully expected the needle to break on his harder than steel exterior but it didn't. In fact, the biting sting of the syringe came as a bit of a surprise to him. He could feel the warmth of the fluid radiating through his arm. Soon the warmth spread through his chest and to his legs.

"Do you have a name?" She asked him softly. He blinked back to his senses. He was caught off guard by the warm feeling. Even more so by her question.

"Yes, I'm sorry. This is all a bit strange to me. My name is Kal… Kal El. She smirked at his response.

"Well then Kal, I suggest you get your… ahem… clothes back on before you do too much more walking around. I'm sure the rest of the crew will be happy to know you're up and about." She gave a curt nod toward a small desk by his bed where his clothes had been laid. Just as he reached for them the blaring warning sounds of an emergency claxon rang out around him.

"Oh, and I would advise you to hurry. It's about to be very uncomfortable around here."

"Solar detonation in sixty seconds and counting." A loud metallic voice echoed throughout the medical bay.

xXxXx

The doors to the elevator shut with but a whisper. Lex swiped his card over the security pad on the elevator door. The entire elevator went black as two laser security grids swept the near empty box. As the vertical and horizontal lasers completed their sweeps a computerized female voice came over the loud speaker.

"Welcome Mr. Luthor. Please state your destination." the elevator finally responded. Lex stood motionless, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Floor 37" He barked unflinchingly. In response to his order the elevator began it's decent, the low hum of the machinery barely audible. Lex's mind was once again on the footage he had seen from Cartiff. Superman, the disappearing blue box, and the strange mechanical automations that confronted the man of steel on the rooftops, he tried to make sense of it all. His teams worked incredibly fast to get the robotic debris here. He had a Superman crisis and control response team on just about every continent in the world. He could have a team at any location on the planet with minutes. So it was literally a matter of a single call to make sure the scene was cleaned and any important discoveries were returned to Luthorcorp tower.

It was a rare opportunity indeed where they actually obtained anything useful. But with the blue Boy Scout pulling his disappearing act instead of staying behind and cleaning up the scene as he normally would, well that just let his troops do their job unmolested. The adage of a kid in a candy store came to mind, however he hadn't actually seen what had been returned. Ever a man of logic he knew better than to let himself fall into the trap of getting his hopes up. Nor was he pleased that Superman just vanished. He knew better than to think he was gone. No, the alien would return. He would find a way. This Lex knew for certain.

The doors parted and he stepped off the elevator. Right away he was greeted by two men in white lab coats. The first was a tall thin man. Greasy black hair and a pencil thin mustache. He gripped a data pad in both hands, obviously intimidated by Lex's presence. Good. As the way it should be. The second man was a bit shorter and balding. A ring of curly red hair adorned his head like a wreath. His grubby little hands were stuffed deep into the pockets of his lab coat. The last time he had met with Lex he made the mistake of attempting to shake his hand. To which Lex had threatened him with nothing short of the removal of his 'sweat laden meat mitts' if his memory served him correctly. Lex almost smiled.

"Where do we stand?" He said walking past the two. Despite their appearances the two were absolutely stunning when it came to the fields of robotics and cybernetics.

"It's honestly like nothing we've ever seen. The actual components of the machines were both archaic and yet at the same time… astonishingly complex. It's almost as if they were only limited in their creation by the materials they had on hand." Said the shorter one.

"There are definite traces of bio-organics within these machines. These Cybermen as you call them, while seemingly more machine than man, are actually comprised of actual living human tissue." The larger one said. Lex stopped without looking back. He replayed the battle in his mind and recalled the point where they had called Superman superior. His eyes narrowed. He wondered what kind of machine would assimilate humans into their own systems when they looked so strong and humans being ultimately frailer than they. What caused them to need humans to begin with? If this was the level of robots they were with regular humans, what level of fighting machines could they become with Kryptonian DNA?

"Could you reconstruct them?" he asked the pair of scientists. They looked back and for to each other and shrugged.

"I'm sure we could reconstruct them physically, but we don't know what kind of programs they are running. Even if we do put the pieces back together again, there is no way to tell if they will be operational." Lex let out the faintest of sighs. He turned to face the two.

"I do not care what _'programing'_ they were running. I wish to know if they can become functional once more. They are no good to me in pieces. The programing is arbitrary. Once they become functional we will download them with Luthorcorp programing, so their old programing is by far the least of my concerns. Is that understood?" The two scientists nodded their assent. He turned and looked through a window into a sterilization room. Inside were tables filled with parts from the metal monstrosities. His eyes gazed into the empty sockets of one of the lifeless heads. He would know their secrets. They would be his. He turned and made his way back to the elevator.

"Get it done. You have twenty four hours." He spat over his shoulder.


	5. Chapter 5 - Potential Threats

Chapter 5 – Potential Threats

It was beautiful. Even as the countdown hit zero, the Doctor felt a strange calm descend upon him. He watched the roiling sea of plasma beyond the window as it thrashed and churned. It was as if he were in an underwater vessel watching a volcanic eruption from inside of the volcano. As the plasma thrashed back and forth churning in a relentless dance the Doctor could see that he was indeed on a vessel; and a rather large one at that. He pressed his hands up against the thick glass of the window to see if he could see more of his current temporary home.

From his vantage point the Doctor could make out several wings of the complex, each one comprised of several levels. Though the swirling plasma made visibility difficult he was able to make out large clusters of pylons at the end of each wing. He felt a strong thrumming surge through the metallic plates of the hull. Something was happening. He stood there glued to the window, watching the fiery dance play itself out. As the swirling and churning of the exterior plasma hastened, so too did the thrumming in the station.

As it grew to an excessive amount, a brilliant green flash was emitted from the pylon at the end of the closest wing. For a moment it infected the surrounding plasma. It turned from a brilliant golden red to a subtle jade green. The swirling and churning began to slow before it stopped all together. The Doctor shook his head in amazement. It was fascinating what was going on here. He crossed his arms, leaned back and chuckled. Sometimes it was just the little things that would catch him off guard, remind him how precious life was and how much each individual valued it.

A loud crack snapped him out of his silent admiration of the preciousness of life; more importantly the jeopardy of his own. The loud crack came from the window he had been looking out of. The green hue of the plasma had diminished and the golden amber glow had returned. However the quick swirling had slowed vastly. On the window a thin fracture had formed. It spread slowly across the length of the glass before stopping.

"Well that can't be good." He muttered softly as he leaned in close to look at the crack. Gently he stroked his chin as he eyed the new deformity.

"Put your hands up and back away from the view port!" came a voice. The Doctor spun to see a small group of people looking at him. Three of which were armed with some kind of plasma pistol. The fourth person carried some kind of electronic scanning device. They were all dressed in a drab grey and olive military garb, though the three armed gentleman were geared more for combat and defense. The last, if the Doctor had to guess, was an engineer.

"Ah, natives. Hello there." He said with a slight grin. He took a step forward with an outstretched hand.

"I said step away from the view port." The central man barked. He stood about the same height as the other two armed personnel. The only difference was that he wore a blue cap with the brim turned toward the rear. He thrust his pistol toward the Doctor once more. The Doctor sheepishly complied taking a step back. The man's eyes narrowed. "Travis, get on that blast shield!" He ordered.

The engineer nodded and ran over to the panel beside the cracked window. He hooked a chord from his electronic scanner into the wall mount the Doctor had previously '_persuaded'_ to open. He began tapping furiously on his panel.

"You know Travis I would be happy to help you with that." The Doctor said pointing to the panel with the hand that was still over his head.

"Step back traitor!" the blue cap barked. "We don't take too kindly to saboteurs around here. Travis, close that blast shield, now!"

"I'm trying sir. It's not responding properly." Travis responded hastily. He slid his fingers over the device several more times; however the crack in the window began to spread. "I almost have it."

"If you just let me…" said the Doctor taking a step forward.

"Take another step and you'll be breathing through your forehead. Travis we're running out of time!" he shouted. The crack began to spider web across the glass.

"I got it!" the engineer shouted as a buzz rang out from his handheld device. The thick metal plating slid back down over the view port. The men breathed a collective sigh of relief. Then, they all focused their attentions back on the Doctor. He flashed them a slight grin.

"Hello." He said softly. "I'm the Doctor."

"How did you get here? What is your purpose here besides trying to destroy us all? Or _is_ that your purpose here? Are you an extremist?" The man in the blue cap rapidly fired questions at the still slightly confused Doctor.

"Extremist? No! I'm the Doctor. I'm here to help."

"Help? You're here to relieve us?" Travis asked out of turn. The man in the blue cap shook his head slightly.

"Those blast shields are to remain closed during a solar eruption. Anyone capable of running this place would know that. So you'll forgive me if I don't completely swallow your story. Now tell us what you're really doing here!"

"Actually, I'm looking for someone. I think they are lost. I just need to find them so that I can help them find the person that they lost and take them both back home so that I can go back home and complete the rescuing of other people before even more people go missing. Understand?" The Doctor said nonchalantly. The three armed men looked at each other and shrugged.

"It sounds like there's an awful lot of missing people surrounding you." Replied the man in the blue cap. He narrowed his gaze studying the doctor. Almost as if he were trying to debate as to whether or not his story was true. He chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Tagart, search him!" He barked once more.

"Aye sir!" said one of the other armed men. He stepped forward patting the doctor down gently. He reached into his inner pocket and removed the Doctors sonic screwdriver as well as the leather fold containing the slip of psychic paper.

"Actually, I'll kind of be needing those." The Doctor protested mildly.

"You'll be needing to keep your mouth shut traitor. Now turn around and start walking." The man in the blue hat nodded toward the darkened corridor. The Doctor entertained the vague notion of protesting once more, however he truly felt it would do no good. In order to get some results he was going to need to find Superman and get out of here. Right now, that meant convincing the natives he wasn't a saboteur. He laced his fingers behind his head and started walking.

xXxXx

Superman gripped the side of the bed as he stood only half dressed. Shockwaves were being sent through the room causing everything to tremble immensely. Thevia had given him the courtesy of waiting for him outside so he could get dressed. She had warned him something was going to happen, she had however failed to mention that the very room would be assaulted. After the last of the shockwaves subsided Thevia poked her head in through the door to check on him.

"Is everything ok in here?" she quipped with a slight smirk upon her face. He looked at her a little shocked at the experience but none the less nodded. He had suffered through much worse many times over. It was the unexpectedness of it all that really caught him off guard. While he still wasn't solidly sure as to why his powers were gone, he ultimately knew they were. No super strength, resilience, or even x-ray vision. Immediately his thought went to the Doctor. He had done something to him and left him for dead. There was only one real way to find out.

"Let's get a move on; the Captain is getting anxious to see you." She said as he slipped on the last of his outfit. He nodded and followed her out the medical area and down the hallway.

"So what exactly was all that shaking back there? Does it happen often?" he asked solemnly.

"It's happening more often than we would like. The solar detonation… well…" She sighed heavily as she walked. "If you don't know what a solar detonation is, than it means you are obviously not here to relieve us."

"Relieve you?" he echoed even more confused.

"Look, you're on SS27. That stands for Solar Station number twenty-seven. Solar stations were designed to prevent suns from going nova. However they are still in the experimental stages. This is the first station that actually worked. Well… so far." She explained.

"Ok. So you can stop suns from going nova? With the technology here? How does that work?" Superman was a smart fellow, near genius levels. Back in the fortress of solitude he had his workshop areas where he would create gadgets and creations to help humanity. He could even make a serum that could replicate his own abilities, but never in his wildest imagination did he ever think to conceive of a way to stop a solar entity from exploding.

"Well, how they work is a little too technical for me, but how it was explained to me was that a solar station is affixed in the center of a solar entity. Whenever a solar eruption happens that threatens to send the sun into a volatile state, the station quickly counteracts the eruption with what is called a Solar Detonation. Now from my understanding, and let me remind you I'm a medical officer not an engineer, they take the volatile churning energies of the would be nova and transfuse them with an anti-plasma. The station then irradiates the anti-plasma using a series of Neutronic-transmitters. This causes a series of counter eruptions within the anti-plasma that cancel the nova before it reaches critical eruption." Superman nodded as he listened to Thevia explain about the station. In theory he supposed it would be possible.

"I can follow along with what you're saying. Was it the eruptions that were causing all the shaking? Like an earthquake?" He asked.

"On the contrary, it was the station itself that was causing all the shaking and rumbling. You see the way the station was designed, it has five different wings. One of which is the oh-so-glorious medical wing. At the end of each wing are the Neutronic-Transmitters. When they begin to irradiate the anti-plasma it simply causes the whole wing to shake. I say it's a design flaw. The engineers and architects beg to differ." She shrugged. Again Superman nodded.

"So where are we going now?" he asked as they turned yet another corner.

"Now, I'm taking you to central command to speak to Captain Eli He has asked to speak to you." They passed through a set of bulkhead doors and into a fairly large room with several banks of computers and monitors. Five large bay windows lined each of the walls. Superman assumed they looked out over each of the wings Thevia had described, however thick blast shields covered them at the moment. In the center of the room at a raised computer station sat a larger man. He was heavy set with thick salt and pepper hair. He wore the makings of a beard, as if his face hadn't seen a razor in a few days. He wore a drab olive green outfit with several small intricate metals on his breast pocket.

"Captain, I have brought the patient as you requested. Kal-El this is Captain Eli. Captain, this is Kal-El." Eli stood up as Thevia gave the introductions. He huffed and crossed his arms over his thick barrel chest. He studied Superman with an icy glare.

"I'm glad to see you're on a first name basis with someone who's trying to destroy us all!"

"Destroy you all?!" Superman exclaimed with a shocked expression on his face. "I'm not here to destroy you. I barely even know where here is!"

"Eli! How can he be trying to destroy us? He's been unconscious for the last week!" Thevia protested.

"Have you ever heard of a sleeper agent Thevia?" The captain sneered. "You think it just so happens that he wakes up at the same time the other saboteur arrives? I'm sure that's purely coincidental right? My fat ass it is. He's one of them, I know it. I would be remiss as captain if I allowed him to stay on the station. I can't risk putting you or the rest of the crew in any more danger than they are already."

"Captain Sir, I'm not here to cause trouble. I pose no threat to you or the station. I appreciate you allowing Thevia to watch over me since I got here and will do whatever I can to repay that debt to you. However, I'm no saboteur. Where I come from I fight to protect people, to uphold the laws. I respect your authority here and you will get no resistance from me if you wish me to leave, though if you allow me to stay, to figure out how I got here and perhaps how I can get home, I will do everything within my power to help you and your crew." Superman said solemnly. He held up his empty hands as a gesture of good faith. The captain looked between him and Thevia, a thick hand running over his stubbly cheek. He silently weighed the words of the alien.

"I don't know what you are. I don't know what you're purpose here is. But I am intrigued to find out how you got here without setting off any sensors or alerting us in any way. What you say may be true, but if that be the case, you should understand that I will have to keep you locked up for now, for the safety of my crew and this station." Superman let out a soft sigh hearing the captain's decree. He gave a slight nod. The captain hit a button on the nearby console and soon several armed men in similar garb as the captain filed into the room.

"Take this man to holding until I figure out what to do with him." The men nodded and pushed Superman toward the entrance they had come through. Reluctantly but without defiance, Superman followed the guardsmen.

xXxXx

Luthor was awakened by the soft trill of his cell phone going off. He opened one eye and looked over to his night stand where the glare of his phone lit up the room. He reached over his companion and retrieved his watch tapping the button on the side. It was just after three AM. He scowled to himself. Grabbing his cell he tapped the screen lightly.

"Go." He said collapsing back into his pillow. Gently he ran his fingers across his brow, his head still a bit fuzzy from last night's wine. The two glasses and an empty bottle still sat on the table by the fireplace.

"Sir, its Pembroke sir." Came the soft nervous response of the scientist.

"Yes. I know who it is. And for your sake I hope you have a good reason for waking me. In fact there is only one response I want to hear from you right now." He growled softly into the phone.

"It's done sir." Was the only response Pembroke gave. It was indeed fortunate that that was the only thing Lex wanted to hear at this point. Lex took a deep breath and let it out slowly, a smile forming on his lips.

"I'll be there within the hour for inspection. You have one chance Pembroke. Impress me." Before the man could respond he had hung up the phone. It only took Lex thirty minutes to get rid of his bedfellow and hop on a copter to Luthorcorp towers. The whole time he ran through calculations in his mind. Writing code and programing on his data pad. If this machine worked as intended this could very well be the tide that swept the alien menace that was Superman off this planet. Should the Boy Scout ever return from where ever he was. But why stop there? His plans were greater than just Superman, far greater, but all in due time. The first hurdle was being approached at a rapid speed.

The elevator doors opened with the softest of whispers. Luthor stepped off the elevator his hands clasped behind his back in his usual fashion. Much to his surprise the two lab jockeys weren't there to meet him. Just as well. He strode down the corridor with a hastened step. He turned a corner and made his way to the assembly and diagnostic lab. It was there he found the two men. Grimes, the short balding one, was busily attaching a diagnostics cable to the fully assembled Cyberman. The other, Pembroke, was at a nearby computer clacking away furiously.

"Congratulations are in order gentlemen." He said as he came into the room. The two men looked up startled from what they were doing. "You have exceeded my expectations and then some. Of course, given the pair of you, my expectations were not that high to begin with. Report." He snapped.

"Assembly was difficult but manageable. We took into consideration that you were in a rush and had no concern for aesthetics. We were able to assemble the main body and frame with very little altercation to the original material. We have achieved full movement of all limbs if manually stimulated. The head was…"

"The head is not functioning." Interrupted Grimes. He slid the diagnostic cable into the back of the Cyberman's skull. "Since you were going to provide your own coding we didn't feel it was necessary to make sure it was functional. Since the automation of the thing was still fully functional. We are actually…"

"We are getting ready to do a full cerebral diagnostic. It's truly fascinating Mr. Luthor. The brain of the robot is actually a brain, a human brain. There are other organic components throughout the system, sinew here, muscle there, mostly for the relaying of information, but nothing we couldn't replicate using technology. However, the brain, the entire central system, is like nothing we have ever seen before. Until we get a full diagnostic..."

"Which we're doing right now."

"Yes, until we get a full diagnostic on the brain, processor, thingy we won't have a complete analysis for you. Now seeing as how we don't know exactly what to expect in this diagnostic there is no real way to tell you how long it would take." Pembroke sat back in his chair watching Lex. He had hoped the fact that the skeletal structure being assembled, the structural integrity of the robot, and the physical schematics of the Cyberman would be enough to outweigh the bad news.

Luthor was quiet. A little too quiet for Pembroke's liking. Lex approached the scientist and looked down at him. A slight nod was given and Pembroke evacuated his seat. Lex took up the seat and turned his attentions to the monitor. He glanced over the data, mindlessly tabbing through the files. His eyes narrowed as he looked over the proposed schematics. He stroked his chin lightly before tapping away at the keypad. A new security screen popped up and he tapped in his passcode.

"Encryption process beginning." The computer chimed softly. He stood up and placed a hand on Pembroke's shoulder.

"It seems you two have not been a complete disappointment. In such you receive my gratitude. However I do believe that this is the end of our collaboration." Lex said softly. Pembroke looked to him a bit confused.

"But sir… the diagnostic… we're not finished." He muttered his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Oh don't mistake my words. Your work will continue. However you are no longer of use to Luthorcorp." Lex reached into his jacket and produced a pistol. Pembroke's eyes watered. Two shots rang out. Two bodies collapsed to the floor in a bloody heap. Lex let the pistol clatter to the floor. He removed his phone and dialed a number.

"I have a clean-up situation in the lab on level 37." He closed his phone and watched as the computer finished encrypting the file. He removed the jump drive from the computer and placed it in his inner pocket. It was nice when things were actually ahead of schedule. Tossing a final glance to the Cyberman standing amid a floor of blood and broken glass, he turned, stepped over the corpse of Pembroke and made his way back to the elevator. It seemed as if a trip were in order. The familiar soft hiss of the elevator doors was the last sound to be heard in the now dark and silent laboratory.

xXxXx

The thick blast bay door that lead to the holding cell raised with a metallic grind. The guardsman shoved the Doctor through the door into the small room beyond. He sighed heavily as he looked around the empty room. There was little more than a pair of cots and a device he assumed to be a toilet of some sort. A single light dimly lit the room. He went and sat upon one of the cots and leaned back, his head resting against the cold metal wall. The doctor closed his eyes, as he felt the soft thrum of machinery reverberating through the wall.

A moment later the door opened up once again and a second man was walked into the room, again the door shutting quickly after his entrance. The Doctor looked up and there was the very man that he had been looking for.

"You!" both the Doctor and Superman said at the same moment.

xXxXx

The laboratory was now dark and quiet. Like ninjas in the night, Lex's clean-up crew had come and taken away the two bodies of the scientists. They left no trace of their existence. The room was much like the vast reaches of space; cold, dark, and silent. It only took a moment for all that to change. In an instant the central monitor flashed to life. It's dimly glowing screen acting as the only light source in the dark room. The words '_Accessing Luthorcorp Mainframe'_ blinked softly at the top of the screen as if typed by an unseen hand. The machines in the room began to whir, click, beep and buzz as each one kicked on. The typing on the screen was soon replaced. Now the screen read 'F_ull Download Beginning_'. A slowly climbing status bars sat ominously beneath the words. It took mere seconds for the bar to completely reach one hundred percent. The screen flashed green, then black, and then finally in red lettering the words '_Uploading_ _Cyberman Protocols' _were all that remained. Just as quickly as the Luthorcorp files had been downloaded, so to were the new protocols installed. Then, once more, the room became dark and silent.


	6. Chapter 6 - A Brief History

Chapter 6 –A Brief History

"You? What are you doing here?" Superman quipped with a shocked expression on his face.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing. I mean, I know why you're here on the station, but why did they throw you in jail? You don't seem to be the violent type with your save all humanity and all. How'd that work out with the Cybermen by the way?" asked the Doctor with an air of smugness. For the first time since he got to this station Superman was actually glad he didn't have his powers or abilities. In an act of misplaced aggression he hauled off and punched the Doctor knocking him to the floor.

"All life is precious Doctor. All life deserves a chance." He said standing over the man. The Doctor pushed himself back up and returned to his cot.

"I'm sorry. I used to think like you. I used to believe that there was a chance for them. That deep inside them there was some shred of humanity left. Something they could cling to, to make them more than just cybernetic murderers, but there was nothing. I am the last of my people. I have seen so much death and despair in the universe that it has literally crushed the hope out of me in some cases. The Cybermen and I have crossed paths many times and each time it ended the same way; with the deaths of many innocent humans. Each time it gets harder and harder to stop them." The Doctor sighed heavily. But just as quickly he seemed to be full of energy again bounding out of his cot and practically dancing about the small chamber.

"OK, so here's the plan. You use your above human strength to open the doors, we hustle on back to the Tardis and she takes us home. I help you find your missing person, you help me stop the Cybermen from abducting any more people in Cardiff, and then I take you both back to wherever you came from. How does that sound?" The Doctor said hopping off his cot with and thrusting a hand of friendship toward the man of steel.

"Unfortunately Doctor, that isn't going to work. I'm not sure why, but I don't have my powers here. You see, I'm from a planet called Krypton. Because of my alien physiology, I gain my abilities from the Earth's yellow sun. Perhaps I have been removed from the sun's rays for far too long, I'm not sure." The Doctor cracked a smile and nodded as he listened to Clark.

"Krypton was a very beautiful place. They were a very intelligent people, perhaps even too intelligent. It's a shame what happened to them. I'm sorry. How did you escape? Are you a time traveler like myself? I didn't realize Kryptonians developed time travel."

"You've… been to Krypton?" Superman asked in shock. The Doctor nodded.

"Once or twice. They have a Kryptonian dish that's out of this world." Superman looked a little sullen at the news, oh how he longed for a taste of some Kryptonian '_home cooking_'. Regardless he saw fit to answer the Doctors question.

"My father was Jor-El, a very important man. While the planet was tearing itself apart he created a ship to house his only son and sent him to earth. I was the last hope of a dying race. Through me they tried to preserve their lineage. I was able to escape because of my parents sacrifice. I was later found in the farmlands of Kansas by the Kent's and raised under their nurturing care."

"Ah, it all makes perfect sense now. The fact that you are from Krypton explains so very much. Why we are here for starters. You see, the Tardis is a sentient being. It's not just any regular run of the mill time jumping space ship. Oh no, it is a living entity. When you attacked the Tardis trying to get me out, it reacted the best way it knew how. It scanned your DNA for possible weaknesses in which to use against you. And it found one. Being Kryptonian, yellow suns give you strength and red suns have just the opposite effect. The Tardis took us both to a place where you wouldn't be a danger to it anymore; the heart of a red sun." The Doctor explained as he paced back and forth in the cell.

"Hmmm ok. But how does that explain me getting here a whole week before you?" Superman replied curiously.

"Well that's the easy part. Time and space work a little differently in the corridor. As you clung to the Tardis for dear life not knowing what was going on, it is my guess that you got increasingly weaker the closer we got to the sun, until finally you were dislodged from the exterior of it all together. When the Tardis finally came to a stop it had been a week since you had left the corridor. I don't think the Tardis took into consideration how long it would take for you to fall off or else you might not have landed on this space station."

"Well as crazy as it sound's it actually makes sense. But I guess that leaves us in a sticky predicament. How are we going to get out of here?" Clark asked.

"As much as it pains me to say, we just have to wait. As a time lord, waiting is not something I'm accustomed to doing." The Doctor flopped back down in his cot. However, without his sonic screwdriver he seemed to be at a loss. His hands were tired.

"So since we have some time on our hands, why don't you tell me a little more about yourself Doctor? There is lot of information about you out in the world, but I've had a hard time deciphering the truth. Some of it says you're an extra-terrestrial terrorist; other reports make you out to be a time hopping savior. From what I've seen it seems to be a mix of the two. An ancient alien race with technology beyond any I've seen and an incredibly horrible streak of bad luck. Not to mention an out dated fashion sense." Both Clark and the Doctor smirked at his comment.

"Bowties are cool. You'll see. They're gonna be big. But you're not too far off with your observation. Not too far off at all."

"Well I have a photographer friend, Jimmy Olson, who is particularly fond of bowties himself."

"I would love to meet this Olson chap. Tell him how cool he is."

"Yes, I think you and Jimmy would get along quite well."

"To answer your question, I am a Time Lord. I am the last of the Time Lords actually. Much like yourself, I have found myself alone in my travels. I have the occasional companion or two but the life of a Time Lord is destined to be a lonely one. However, I make due by travelling the vastness of time and space with the Tardis. I guess you could say the Tardis is my oldest and truest companion. Oh we have had many a splendid journey together her and I."

"About the Tardis," Clark interrupted, "Why does it look like a police box?" The Doctor chuckled.

"You don't know how many times I actually get asked that. It actually has a chameleon circuit that allows it to blend into its surroundings. Pretty useful when you're hopping here and there and don't want to be discovered. During a fateful trip to London in 1963, it just sort of… stuck. I kind of liked it so I never even thought of fixing it." Clark nodded as he took a seat on the other cot across from the Doctor.

"I have come across countless civilizations, but none have I ever found as interesting as the humans of Earth. And I'm afraid it is because I have taken such a fascination with this species that I have inadvertently subjected them to much danger. Superman…"

"Please, call me Clark."

"Clark?"

"That's the name the Kent's have given me. My Kryptonian name is Kal-El. My earth name is Clark Kent. However most of the earth's populace knows me as Superman. "

"I see. Well met Clark. It's truly an honor and a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm sorry about all the confusion Doctor, but I still need to find Lois."

"Ah, this Lois, she seems very important to you."

"She is Doctor. She is one of the few people back on Earth that knows my true identity. In fact we are married. The last I saw her she was getting on board your Tardis." The Doctor looked at him crossing his arms over his chest.

"Ok then. Tell me everything. Start at the beginning and don't leave out even the smallest of details." He leaned in listening intently as Clark began to tell him everything that happened on the day that Lois went missing.

xXxXx

The helicopter landed upon the rooftop to the welcome of several armed guards and the plant director. Lex stepped out of the copter and made his way to where the small group was standing. The plant director greeted him and ushered them all inside.

"Welcome Mr. Luthor. I didn't expect you quite so soon." He said shutting the door behind them.

"I came right away. I have an urgent matter I am dealing with. I have acquired some schematics that need your utmost attention." Lex fished out the jump drive from his inner suit pocket and handed it to the plant director. The director took the drive and looked at him curiously.

"Are you referring to your new robot design Mr. Luthor? I have already started manufacturing them as per the specifications you sent in your email. We've been running for almost two hours now. The first one should be rolling off the line in another couple of hours."

Lex felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. He never sent an email, nor did he leave any traces of the robot in his computer at Luthorcorp. As far as he knew the only copy of the design was with him in his jacket pocket. No, there was definitely some form of espionage going on here. But who could it be? He eliminated the only two people that could have known about it. He pushed his way past the plant director and made his way to his private office there at the plant.

After locking the door behind him, he went to his desk and began pulling up his personal email accounts. And there it was, as plain as day. An email sent by him with an attachment that contained the new schematics. He leaned back in his chair lacing his fingers together, his icy glare cast upon the screen. He read over the email again and again trying to make sense of it all. The email would have been sent just after he had left Luthorcorp on his way to Star City.

The two lab jockeys were dead, he was sure of it. If there was any life left in them, his clean up team would have seen to it. He arched a brow. Could it be someone on his clean up team? If that were the case they would have needed to hack into his personal email files and while he never did trust them implicitly, he trusted them enough. Besides, any attempt to gain access to any of his own personal systems would have alerted him.

No, there was something entirely different going on here. And he needed to find out what. If his personal email was insecure, if his private laboratory was insecure, than there was no telling how much of Luthorcorps private information was at risk. He needed to find the source of this incursion and eliminate it. Eliminate it with total and utter prejudice. He wasn't sure which the greater insult was; the fact that someone was able to break into his own personal files, or the fact that they would pretend to be him and leave such a blatant and obvious paper trail. He shook his head.

There was one other thing that he didn't quite grasp. He leaned forward and clicked open the attached file. His eyes roved over the schematics of the robot design. Why would someone else have commissioned the robots to be built? He knew why he wanted them, but why would someone else require them. Then he noticed the ever so subtle difference in design. It was barely noticeable; even he could have missed it. Could have, but didn't. There were a several slight changes in the casings of the exterior. Again, he didn't quite fathom their purpose as it didn't change the overall mechanics. It seemed purely a cosmetic change at best.

Lex hated questions that lead to more questions. He didn't like them at all. It was far from obvious that he wasn't going to be getting any answers by staying here. He had hoped his trip would have been more productive, but in honesty his purpose for coming here was still underway and ahead of schedule in fact. So the trip at least wasn't a complete loss. Once more he made his way to his helicopter, his thoughts heavy with the morning's events.

xXxXx

"So you're just going to let him sit in the holding cell? I'm telling you Eli, he's not what you think he is. I've had a chance to talk to him. I honestly believe he's telling the truth." Thevia said, crossing her arms in a huff. She glared at Captain Eli, and although he wasn't looking at her directly he could feel the heat of her accusing eyes.

"I'm telling you Thevia, I'm just doing it to protect the crew. It's bad enough around here without some stranger mucking about. We've searched the entire station and still haven't found any signs of how he got here. It's as if he spawned out of thin air. If that doesn't set off alarm bells for you than maybe you need to give yourself a checkup." Captain Eli grunted.

"But you didn't even give him a chance to explain! I'm sure if you just listen…"

"No Thevia, right now you need to listen! It's been over three weeks since we've lost contact with home control. We are running low on supplies and there is a constant flow of technical errors that need fixing. Let me remind you that we barely have enough rations to sustain the crew we do have let alone anyone extra. So right now you need to stop thinking of that stranger as some innocent lost lamb and see him for the potential danger to this station and its crew that he actually is!"

"Captain!" came the voice of the man in the blue cap as he entered the control room. "We have found another saboteur in the cargo wing." Captain Eli tossed a glance back at Thevia before turning his full attention to the man.

"Go on Simmons." The captain urged.

"We found him in the act of sabotage. During the last solar event he had opened one of the protective shutters at one of that wings view ports. It has sustained some damage, but we were able to reinforce it in time."

"Well how do you know he's a saboteur?" Thevia asked. Both Simmons and Eli looked at her incredulously.

"Are you daft girl? Along with the laundry list of design defects in this death trap they pass off as a space station, the viewing ports are not strong enough by themselves to withstand a solar event. Need I remind you what would happen if one should break all together? I mean seriously… who puts viewing ports on a station in the center of the fricken sun?" Captain Eli huffed.

"Well there's that and we found these on his person." Simmons placed the Doctors sonic screwdriver and slip of psychic paper onto the counter. Eli picked up the sonic screwdriver and looked at it curiously. He hadn't ever seen anything like it, though he wasn't well versed in the tools of espionage. He shook his head gently tossing it back on the table.

"Well, that's enough proof for me. What did you do with him?"

"While the urge to shoot on site was overwhelming I didn't want to risk any more damage to the viewport. I tossed him the holding cell."

"So Thevia, do you still think your man is innocent?"

"Until proven guilty, sir." She replied softly, though even she had to admit that the evidence was compelling.

"But that's not all sir, we have also uncovered some kind of… storage crate or box in the back of the cargo bay." Simmons continued.

"So wait? You're saying you found a crate in the cargo bay? Are you serious?" Thevia said rolling her eyes. Simmons scowled at her.

"Not just any crate Thevia, a large blue crate that we cannot seem to open. There could be some kind of explosive device… or possibly even…"

"Could it be how they got here?" Asked Captain Eli. Simmons shrugged in response.

"I'm no expert sir, but I don't see why not. It's large enough. I'm sure two people could fit inside with some espionage equipment."

Thevia was about to interject another protest, but it was at that moment an alarm went off loudly echoing through the chamber. The room was bathed in crimson light. Captain Eli hunched over a nearby console tapping the screen and twisting the knobs. Simmons and Thevia rushed over and carefully watched over the man's shoulder. Travis' voice came over the intercom.

"Captain Eli sir, it's the Neutronic-transmitters. The relay sensors have gone offline sir. The last solar event must have fried them." Travis' shouted over the intercom. The level of panic in his voice was all too obvious.

"So what are you telling me?" Eli shouted back over the intercom.

"I'm telling you that we're all dead! We need those Neutronic-transmitters up before the next solar event or it's us that's going to be fried. Those relay sensors are imperative to our entire operation. They have to be reset before the next solar event if we want the Neutronic-transmitters to be able to counteract the sun going into critical nova sir."

"Last I checked _CHIEF ENGINEER TRAVIS_, you were the one that was responsible for maintaining operations. It sounds like you know what you're doing so do what you get paid to do and fix it. You have…" Captain Eli looked at a nearby chronometer, "…approximately forty-five minutes before the next solar event. So get your little engineer buddies into gear."

"No sir! I'm afraid you are not understanding the gravity of the situation. It's impossible to fix. In order to reset the relays, we would need to reroute the sub-power conduits into the thermal conduction units and trip the override controls at each transmitter manually. Do you understand? MANUALLY! In order to override the transmitters each one has to be tripped within sixty seconds of each other. Essentially they all have to be overridden at the same time and rerouted through the primary databank in main engineering."

"OK, so it sounds like you got it all figured out. Get your geek pals on the job and get it fixed. Stop crying, put on your big girl panties and just do it." Replied Captain Eli.

"There are only three of my '_geek pals'_ on this station. We simply don't have enough engineers to do it. We're all dead!" The intercom went silent. Captain Eli did the math in his head. They had four viable engineers that could reprogram the system; if what Travis was saying was true they would need six if the plan was to succeed.

"Simmons can do it! Me and Thevia can stay in main engineering and reroute the primary database, you guys and Simmons can take care of the Neutronic-transmitters. We can do this!"

"Sorry sir, but Simmons is a gun toting primate and does not have the delicate brain function to do something like this. No offence. " Said Travis.

"None taken." Simmons said with a slight smirk on his face.

"And while I firmly believe that Thevia may have some rudimentary knowledge of engineering schematics and programming, I sincerely doubt that you do. Face it sir, it's hopeless. We're all lost."

"Why don't we use the two in the holding cells?" Thevia pleaded. "The one already said he could help with the blast shield, so obviously he's somewhat technical. If this station is destroyed so is he, I'm sure that will be enough motivation for him. And Kal-El said he would do whatever it took to help us. I'm telling you, he is not here to get us. We can do this, but we have to trust them. If we trust them they _may_ betray us and we will all die. But if we don't trust them at all we will definitely all die. What do you say Eli?" Captain Eli looked between her and Simmons. He stroked his chin. There was no doubt time was running out and they had to do something.

"Then I guess we should go have a little chat with them, shouldn't we?" He finally said.

xXxXx

The heart of Borneo is known for being ruthless and savage. Predators tirelessly stalk the jungle in search of prey. The thrill of the hunt, the rush of the kill, the cycle of life and death continues effortlessly and without any sign of slowing. But not all predators walk on four legs in this jungle. Nestled in the dark heart of the jungle rests an old abandoned structure; a structure that the very jungle is even now trying to reclaim. Thick clinging vines climb the exterior of the small one story derelict building. The road to the building has long since been lost, taken over by weeds of the worst kind. Ferns and other local flora sprout through the jungle floor and obscure the building from view of even the most cunning predators.

However it's not what's on the outside that most would find of interest. Nor would it even be what is on the inside of the run down facility. It's what was happening below the surface that people would be most interested in knowing about. For deep under the surface of the jungle floor, beneath the seemingly docile and defunct looking building, lays the heart of what was once a crown jewel in the Luthorcorp manufacturing facilities. It was a facility that had never been on any map in existence; a facility whose very existence was shrouded in rumor and conjecture. It was a facility that up until now had been resting inert and lifeless. In its very essence the facility served as a cold contradiction to the heaving swarm of life that thrived above it.

The empty factory was cold and desolate. It was as silent as the dead. It did not stay that way for very long. Soon it became as alive as the jungle above it. It started with the feint buzz of the florescent lighting as it filled the factory floor. That was soon accompanied by the dull thrumming of machines coming online. The whine of hydraulic arms moving this way and that was added to the mechanical orchestra. The roar of the subterranean plant reached a cacophonous high as the construction began. Strangely enough, as the noise of the factory became deafening, a hushed silence settled over the jungle above.


	7. Chapter 7 - Under Repairs

Chapter 7 – Under Repairs

It wasn't long after Clark had finished giving the Doctor the details of Lois' alleged abduction when the door to the holding cell opened. Both the Doctor and Clark leapt from their respective cots to face the doorway. The gruff and rotund Captain Eli entered the room closely followed by Thevia, and Simmons.

"It has come to our direct and immediate attention that there has been some kind of malfunction in our network of Neutronic-transmitters." Captain Eli said almost immediately. "Do either of you have any information that can shed some light onto this? Hmmm?" he said, his gaze transfixed heavily on Clark.

"Did you say a malfunction in the Neutronic-transmitters?" repeated the Doctor with a slight air of enthusiasm to his voice and a quirky grin plastered upon his face.

"That's what I said. What do you know about it?" Eli inquired.

"Why absolutely nothing at all. But I feel that this malfunction poses a serious threat to you and the station. Everyone's buzzing around like little bees. It's really quite exciting."

"Do you know anything about it?" Eli said with a slight roll of his eyes before looking back to Clark.

"I'm afraid that I don't Captain, but if there is anything I can do to help I would be happy to lend a hand."

"I'm going to hold you to that. Trust assured. What about you? I hear you were screwing with one of the viewports over in the cargo wing. Fancy yourself something of a technological person do you?"

"Well I wouldn't say fancy, more modern. Really quite plain actually, but I do know my way around a circuit or two. Why there was this one time where I had to…"

"That's enough! We don't have time for this. Either you'll help us or you won't. In either case I need an answer." Eli interrupted. The Doctor smiled again and crossed his arms.

"But of course good Captain. If it's a danger to you and this station than really it's a danger to us all. So I would really be quite remiss if I didn't lend a hand and get this whole thing sorted out for you now wouldn't I?"

"Fine. You'll go with Simmons…" Eli nodded toward the man in the blue hat.

"Ah yes Simmons. Quite right. I believe we've met, though I don't believe I caught your name last time. So nice to put the name with the face and all. I'm the Doctor by the way."

"Fine, fine Doctor. You'll go with Simmons as I don't fully trust you. The two of you will go and take care of the transmitter in the cargo wing. "

"Oh Captain?" The Doctor replied briefly. "I think I might be a tad bit more affective if I had my affects back." He offered Eli a slight smile. Begrudgingly and with a huff Eli handed back the Doctor his sonic screwdriver and his slip of psychic paper.

"Thanks Captain, I shall see that they get put to good use saving the station and what not." He said as he slipped both items into an interior pocket within his jacket.

"You… Kal was it? You and Thevia will head down to the main engineering and take care of the problem from there."

"Wherever you need me sir, but I'm afraid that I don't have a real grasp on what I'm supposed to be doing." Clark replied curiously. Just then the head of engineering Travis burst through the door.

"Well, here's the guy that can explain just that." Captain Eli huffed.

"Why are we standing around here?" Travis began. "We have so much work to do and not very much time to do it. Captain I trust you have brought our shanghaied stowaways up to speed, right?"

"I told them they were going to be working for us… now you need to tell them what exactly that work consists of." Travis rolled his eyes. He was small in stature, but he was very hyperactive when it came to his body movements; almost a little over expressive.

"OK. This is what we're going to be doing," and without further prompting, Travis went over the instructions for the roles that both Clark and The Doctor had to play. Both Clark and the Doctor were able to follow along with the rudimentary instructions. The Doctor had a full understanding of the process as well as the current technology involved, but for Clark it was a little more difficult. He understood the concept of what he was doing, however the technology of this time they were in was a bit too alien. His mind was sharp though, and he would be able to learn on the fly. He just hoped they had enough time.

"At that point I'll begin reparations to the transmitter here in the security wing. I've got the other engineers already heading toward the medical wing, science wing, and living quarters respectively to reactivate those transmitters. Doctor, you and Simmons will make your way to the transmitter at the end of the cargo wing and handle the transmitter there. Now let me remind you once again that you need to reactivate the transmitter moments after I've reactivated mine or else it won't be work. Kal-El and Thevia will head to the main engineering underneath central command. Kal, everything's going to be rerouted to you so don't mess it up, understand?" Clark nodded.

"Come on everyone, we're only going to get one shot at this so we need to make it count. Better bring you're '_A game'_ or else we'll be nothing but cosmic particles drifting through space." Captain Eli spat out.

"Thanks for the pep talk Captain." Travis sighed. Without further delay they split into the groups that Captain Eli had assigned and got underway.

xXxXx

Lex barged through the double doors into his office with an angry flair. With grit teeth he glanced around the room. He didn't know what to expect. One never could when it came to corporate espionage. He almost half expected someone to be sitting in his chair with a gun pointed directly at him. It wouldn't be the first time that that had ever happened; and knowing how Lex liked to operate on the shadier side of the rules, it probably wouldn't be the last time either.

Lex walked around the room, his eyes scrutinizing the sheer metallic walls and pieces of art hanging from them. Anything that he thought might be able to conceal a listening device or some kind of transmitter. However his efforts came up empty. He in a fit of self-preservation some would say bordered on paranoia Lex had his office swept on a weekly basis for eavesdropping devices. He looked over his computer for any external attachments but again found nothing out of the ordinary.

He was certainly perplexed. With the amount of security that he had on his computer nobody should have been able to hack it. But this certainly posed one serious question to Lex. Whoever could do something like this, were they a threat, or a possible ally? He sat down in his chair and fired up his computer. Clacking away madly he pulled up the security video footage from within his office. There was nothing unusual on the footage. Not from the last time he left until he walked in moments ago. Absolutely nothing.

He leaned back in his chair and ran his hand over his smooth bald pate. His mind churned and much unlike his usual calm self he was slowly becoming frustrated. Did this have anything to do with Superman's disappearance? He couldn't be too sure, but he ruled nothing out. But if it did have something to do with it, what was the agenda here? What was the end game supposed to be? Why would anyone else even be interested in manufacturing these robot replicas? Why would they use his own plant to do it? There were too many questions here, and if it was one thing Lex hated it were questions without answers. In a normal case of corporate espionage, schematics would get stolen and manufacturing would commence in the thieves facility, or they would get sold back to him at a hefty price. This was not the case.

He leaned back in and tapped a few more keys. This time he opted to pull up the security footage of the private laboratory. Aside from the jump drive that was still in his pocket, it was the only place where the thieves could have gained access to the schematics for the machine to even send to the factory. It would make sense that this would be where the thieves would obtain the information. How they got into his personal email would have to wait for now.

He watched the screen fervently. He watched as the two scientists toiled away, neither of them ever having time to make a personal copy of the data. He watched callously as he marched into the lab and disposed of the two without so much as a twinge of hesitation. He continued to watch as he left the lab and was soon replaced by his specialized cleaning team. They worked quickly and efficiently making sure that any trace of evidence the two scientists had ever existed was completely eradicated. He was actually quite pleased with their level of efficiency, their eye for detail, their utter cold hearted brutality of it all. He seldom got to watch them work. It was pleasing to him.

It was about an hour after the cleanup team had left when it happened. In the dimly lit lab he watched as the computer monitors turned on. He arched a brow and began watching intently. They would flicker and words would troll across the screen, but there was nobody present within the room. This meant there was some type of remote access taking place here. Again, this did not make sense, for the lab was completely secure and had no access to the outside world. The only external feed to the lab went directly through Luthor's office. There was something definitely amiss here. His heart skipped a beat as a stray random thought ran through his head.

He could absolutely account for every piece of hardware in that room, save for one, the cybernetic construct. Now it all began to make sense. The construct was the only foreign and truly alien piece of hardware in that room. And while he fully wasn't aware of the limitations and capabilities of the machine yet, it could be theoretically possible that there was some semblance of sentience still left in the empty husk of a machine. Lex's eyes widened. If that sentience could gain access to his own personal files within Luthorcorp, then it had access to Luthorcorp its self.

He rose from his chair and shot out of his office hastening to the elevator. He pressed the button and the elevator scanned him quickly allowing him access to the level the lab was on. He felt an urgency to get down to the lab. It must have been the cerebral scan those two dolts were working on. Perhaps it awakened something that was lying dormant within the shell of a machine. Perhaps it just provided the temporary jump start of energy that the broken down pile of junk needed to activate itself. Whatever the situation he couldn't risk it compromising Luthorcorp in anyway.

The elevator doors slid open with the hushed whisper that he was accustomed to. They weren't even completely open before he pushed his way past them and charged down the hallway to the lab. He reached up gripping the thick cable that was attached to base of the Cyberman's helmet and went to rip it out but was met with a quick jolt of electricity. He staggered back clutching his wounded hand to his chest.

"What are you? I am Lex Luthor! I demand to know who you are and what your purpose is!" He cried out, a fierce sneer upon his lips. His outburst was met with the sound of all the computers and lab equipment turning on simultaneously. An ominous hum loomed around him and the strange robot that was lifeless moments before straightened itself and turned to face him.

"You are the one designated as Lex Luthor?" the machine man inquired. Lex stood in awe looking up at the alien machine as it stood on the dais in the center of the lab. Words were failing him; a true first by many standards.

"I am." He said loudly once he overcame the initial shock of being addressed by what he previously thought was a defunct android shell.

"I am the Cyber-Leader."

xXxXx

Superman and Thevia rushed down the hallway. In a way it was kind of exhilarating. At least it would have been if there wasn't the looming threat of impending doom. It wasn't the first time he had lost his powers. He actually even enjoyed the loss of them to a point. To feel the burning sensation in his lungs as he tore down the hallway, to feel the slight burn in his legs that came with pushing himself without super speed. Even without his abilities he was a healthy athletic man by human standards. He was in no way a stranger to physical activity with or without the use of his abilities. But it was the lack of them that made him feel alive!

He and Thevia rounded the corridor as it slowly spiraled down beneath the main control center. At the end of the sloping tunnel they came to the door to the main engineering lab. Thevia punched in a code at the security terminal and the door came grinding open. The two went inside and were met with a flicker of lights as the lab came alive in their presence. Clark glanced around gazing from schematic to schematic that seemed strewn about the room haphazardly. Several tables were set up around the room with projects upon them in various stages of construction. A bank of computer terminals rested against the far wall and a rather large glass table stood in the center of the room. He couldn't help but think of how Bruce would have a field day in here.

Thevia ran over to the glass table and waved her hand over it. It began to hum and a pale blue light infused the top of the table.

"This is what we're here for. This will give us the schematics for the entire station. We can view anything as large as the floor plan for the station or we can zoom in to the schematics of a particular piece of circuitry." To demonstrate, she simply pointed at a section of the station and it would zoom in until she removed her finger. Clark nodded as he watched her. He was fascinated with the technology. The tabletop was almost liquid to the touch. He was able to move and manipulate the images with a touch and a thought. "But we don't have time to fool around. Now I know where the systems are that we need to sync with in order to reset the system. But unfortunately… that's about all I know. You need to be able to coordinate, adjust, and mitigate the incoming signals to a differentiating buffer. I hope to the gods you know how to do that."

"I think I can figure it out." He said with a slight grin on his face. He scrunched his fingers and the image of the space station leapt from the table and became a rotating three dimensional image hovering just above the table. Thevia gasped astonished at what he had done.

"I didn't even know it could do that." She gasped.

"The technology you have here is very advanced. Beyond some things I've ever seen." He said. He rotated the image of the space station and zoomed in to one of the Neutronic transmitters. "But I can learn pretty quickly. I have an excellent eye for detail and a rather sharp mind, even if I do say so myself. I just have to get acclimated to things but let me just look over these transmitters real quick."

"Engineering," came Travis' voice over the intercom. "I've reached the first transmitter. I'm ready to begin sequencing. Have the other transmitters checked in yet?"

"No. You're the first." Thevia replied.

"You guys better get on the ball and start getting them together. We don't have long before the next solar flare. I'll be very upset if I get fried because those other wing nuts weren't ready." Thevia nodded at Travis' command and turned to Clark.

"You keep working on that. I'll start wrangling up the lost sheep and getting them ready. You need to be ready to go when they are." She said. He simply nodded in response. He was too engrossed in the heart of the transmitters. He was pretty amazed and fascinated by the technology they represented here. He could totally appreciate the effort and resources it went into creating this type of station. The amount of effort and resources let alone the research needed to create one of the Neutronic transmitters was incalculable. His eyes moved fast, his hands faster, his mind quickly absorbing it all.

There were subtle differences in this type of engineering and earth engineering that he was accustomed too. This made him believe that these people were not that different from earth humans. Perhaps they were an offshoot of humans, perhaps descendants. Perhaps they came from some Earth space explorers that found and colonized new worlds. It wasn't that far-fetched to believe. Of course it would really depend on how far in the future they were. It could simply be earth technology that was pirated and rationed out amongst the stars. Either way it was simple to be able to recognize the similarities in the familiar and unfamiliar. It certainly did stand to make his job go a little smoother.

"I've almost got this sorted out Thevia. Are the others ready?" He asked.

"I haven't heard from Simmons and the Doctor yet. No responses at all." She replied. Clark ran over to the intercom and pressed the button.

"Doctor, the others are at their transmitters and have checked in. Where are you? We need to start the sequence soon if we are going to be able to reset the system in time." He shouted into the intercom. The sound of silence was his only response. He shook his head slightly. Perhaps he should have been the one to go to the transmitter. He looked at Thevia shaking his head in the negative. It really was all up to the Doctor at the moment. He was the last piece of the puzzle. All the others were in place and ready to go.

"Kal, we only have minutes before the next solar event hits. What are we going to do? We don't have time to get anyone else down there…" A tear formed in the corner of her eye as she sensed the impending doom that was encroaching ever closer.

"I…" And just liked that he wished he wasn't powerless. He would be able to do something. He could rescue them. He always did. Having to rely on others was nothing new to him. He relied on family, Lois, the Justice League for many things. But having to rely on a complete stranger? That was something a bit alien to him. "I believe in the Doctor. He'll do it." He said softly. It almost sounded as if he was reassuring himself just as much as he was reassuring her. He pressed the intercom button again.

"Doctor, we have five minutes before the next solar event. We need to get these transmitters on line now!" he shouted.

xXxXx

The Doctor and Simmons ran down the hall with little time to spare. After Travis had explained the situation the best he could the crew moved into action. The Doctor indeed had his game face on as he ran down the hall. He was already going over the system overlays in his mind and plotting not only how he could make the repairs on the transmitters, but also make it so that such repairs never be necessary again. Simmons was a seasoned veteran. The Doctor guessed he had been military most of, if not all his life. Perhaps even seen some combat once or twice. He could completely understand why he was paired with him. The poor guy probably knew less than nothing about what they were doing other than their lives depended on it. No doubt, he would not hesitate to shoot the Doctor if necessary. That thought did not settle the Doctor in the slightest.

The two charged down the corridor, the area becoming all too familiar. He recognized where the window was where he first observed the Neutronic transaction take place within the sun's core. The blast shield was still lowered, offering support and reinforcement to the damaged window on the other side.

"Who designs a space station to exist in the center of solar entity with view ports? I mean really? I know I wouldn't have done that." The Doctor shouted to Simmons as they continued down the hallway. They were getting pretty close to the location to where the Doctor had left the Tardis. If he were any lesser of a Time Lord he could just as easily elude his shadow, hop on the Tardis, make his way back to the Ponds and forget he ever came to this poorly designed death trap. _If_ he were any less of a Time Lord, but he was the Doctor, last of the Time Lords.

The two rounded the final corner and came to a screeching halt in front of a large pile of crates and boxes. The pair looked to the boxes and then back to each other. Simmons sighed and shook his head.

"The entrance to the access shaft is on the other side of this catastrophe he said. We'll never be able to clear them out in time to make it to the transmitter." Simmons said as he kicked the nearest box. The Doctor did not hesitate for a second. He removed his sonic screwdriver and flicked it open taking a quick scan of the area. He went over and jostled a couple of the boxes and peered behind them. The good news was that he could actually see the hatch for the access shaft that led to the transmitter. The bad news was that what Simmons said was right, they would never be able to clear all the boxes in time. He leaned up against the wall, his head pressed against the metallic crate, his eyes transfixed on the access hatch.

"Doctor." Came Clark's voice over the intercom. "The others are at their transmitters and have checked in. Where are you? We need to start the sequence soon if we are going to be able to reset the system in time." The Doctor arched a brow and tilted his head.

"We can do it!" He shouted after a slight pause. He turned to Simmons. "All you have to do is lift up this crate over here just enough, then I can wind my way through to the hatch and get to the transmitter. We still have plenty of time. We can do this if we work together."

"You expect me to just stand here and hold a box while you go off on your own unsupervised?"

"I did mention the working together part, didn't I? Anyways you wouldn't have to hold it long, just a moment or two. Just long enough for me to get to the hatch. Than you can go shoot whatever you want while I fix the transmitter. How's that sound?"

"It sounds like you're trying to escape."

"Simmons, truth is mate, we're in dire straits. You really don't have much of a choice if you want us all to live. Are there any other exits other than that one?" Simmons thought about it for a moment or two before shaking his head in the negative. "Well see, there you go. Where am I going to escape to? You lift the box, I go in, you lower the box, and I'm trapped inside until I fix the transmitter. We all live, and its drinks and shooting all around. I know you really want to shoot something, so the faster we do this, the faster you get at it, eh?"

Simmons sneered. He hated being told what to do. But when it came down to it what the Doctor said was true. He didn't respond. He just moved along and hoisted the box up as instructed. The Doctor began circumventing the crates and other debris toward the hatch.

"Doctor, we have five minutes before the next solar event. We need to get these transmitters on line now!" Clark shouted over the intercom.

"I'm working on it." The Doctor mumbled as he reached the hatch. He pulled a lever on the hatch and it slid open with a soft his of escaping air. He scrambled up the narrow crawlway looking for something that looked like the device that Travis had described. Sure enough, at the end of the crawlway he found it. It was then he had the strangest of thoughts occur to him. He was alone, in a metal shaft, in a wing, on a space station in the middle of an erupting sun. He sighed heavily wondering how he continued to get himself into these situations.

Mindlessly the Doctor had begun working on the transmitter. However, he failed to follow the exact instructions Travis had given him. Instead he opted to make the transmitter better. With the plans he had devised on the mad dash over to the hatch. Unfortunately that found him rewiring and reprogramming the whole thing.

"Doctor, we're out of time. The others are starting their sequences! Doctor you need to restart your sequence immediately!" Clark said excitedly. The Doctor paused for a moment and looked about. He had a fistful of wires in his left hand, his right tapping furiously on a nearby display screen, and his sonic screwdriver clutched firmly in his teeth. He shook his head slightly and continued to work furiously by the dim light of the auxiliary lighting.

"Doctor?!"


End file.
